Donald Trump has been found guilty on all counts in the New York hush money trial. The historic verdict marks Trump as a felon and the first American president to endure a criminal conviction.
Trump was found guilty of falsifying New York business records to conceal a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, in a conspiracy to deceive the 2016 electorate.
Jurors determined that Trump committed 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to his 2017 reimbursement to Michael Cohen, who had paid Daniels two weeks before Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton, to keep quiet about her claims of an extramarital affair in a Tahoe hotel room a decade earlier.
As the verdict was read, Trump remained stone-faced, glancing at the jury as it was polled. Judge Merchan then dismissed the jurors, thanking them for their time and service, stating, “You gave this matter the attention it deserved.”
At 77, Trump could face a sentence of up to four years in prison or a term of probation. This verdict concludes the first of four criminal cases against the 45th U.S. president and is the only one expected to be resolved before the upcoming November election.
The jury, comprising seven men and five women, received the case on Wednesday afternoon after a monthlong trial. Prosecutors provided extensive testimony about a scheme initiated in August 2015 at Trump Tower by Trump, Cohen, and David Pecker, the former chairman of American Media, Inc. (AMI), who testified for four days.
