Former U.S. President Donald Trump has been found guilty during a trial related to allegations of paying hush money to silence a sex scandal. With this, Trump has become the first former president in U.S. history to be convicted in a criminal trial.
According to media outlets such as the New York Times and CNN on the 30th (local time), a jury of 12 residents in Manhattan, New York unanimously found Trump guilty of all 34 charges brought against him after the conclusion of the trial in a Manhattan criminal court that afternoon.
Trump is accused of manipulating the accounting books of The Trump Organization to pay approximately $130,000 to former adult film actress Stormy Daniels to prevent her from revealing their sexual relationship.
Michael Cohen, Trump’s attorney at the time, transferred the money to Daniels, and it was later revealed that The Trump Organization paid Cohen an additional $420,000, including extra costs, under the guise of legal advice fees.
The allegations were raised in 2016 when the U.S. presidential election was held, and the prosecution argued that it was not just a simple manipulation of accounting books, but a violation of election laws that could influence the U.S. presidential election.
Trump’s defense denied the existence of an extramarital affair with Daniels and claimed that the testimony of key witness Cohen was false. However, the jury unanimously found Trump guilty of all charges brought against him.
Immediately after the verdict, Trump said in front of the court, “I’m a very innocent man. And it’s OK. I’m fighting for our country. I’m fighting for our Constitution.”
He added, “This was done by the Biden Administration to wound or hurt a political opponent. I think it’s just a disgrace and we’ll keep fighting, We’ll fight till the end and we’ll win because our country’s gone to hell.”
Meanwhile, Judge Juan Merchan, who is in charge of the case, is scheduled to deliver the sentence on July 11. The New York Times and other outlets predicted that “Former President Trump could face up to four years in prison,” but they also forecasted that “Trump’s defense will appeal. In this case, it will be difficult to get the final result before the November election.”
Most Commented