A Manhattan jury on Thursday convicted Donald Trump on 34 felony counts for falsifying records to cover up hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Trump is the first former president ever convicted of a crime.
Trump said it was a “rigged, disgraceful trial” and says the “real verdict” will be on election day in November.
"The historic verdict, stemming from conduct that took place around Trump’s remarkable run to the presidency in 2016, could threaten his 2024 bid to return to the White House," the Wall Street Journal noted. "Trump can still run and his poll numbers remained steady during the more than monthlong trial, though some voters have said they might be less likely to vote for him if he were convicted."
Judge Juan Merchan has set a sentencing hearing for July 11, just days before the start of the Republican National Convention.
The New York offenses are low-level felonies that carry no mandatory punishment.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg "charged the case in a manner for which there is little precedent," the Journal noted.
Trump also is a first-time offender with no criminal record.
"Such circumstances could make a prison sentence unlikely," the Journal's report said. "Merchan has other penalties from which to choose, ranging from a fine to probation. Trump is certain to appeal, which could take months or years to resolve. The process could be further complicated if Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, wins a second presidential term."
Bragg argued that the New York false-records charges, which can be a misdemeanor, were felonies in Trump's case because the former president committed the offenses in connection with other illegal conduct, namely an unlawful scheme to influence the 2016 election.
"Bragg didn’t charge Trump with any election-related conduct," the Journal noted.
Jack Posobiec, author of a new book, "Unhumans: The Secret History of Communist Revolutions (and How to Crush Them)" posted on social media: "This wasn’t a trial. It was a struggle session. Mao would be proud. We are in an irregular communist revolution."
"Take a look around," he added. "You won’t find a single Democrat denouncing this sham trial. This is how far gone their party is. They’d shred our republic just to try to save Joe Biden."
Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton made the following statement regarding the unprecedented prosecution of Trump by Democrats in New York:
Pure corruption. Judicial Watch denounces this absurd verdict and Soviet-style criminal proceeding that has so abused President Trump. What just happened to Trump up in New York is criminal.
The guilty verdict against Trump is no surprise considering the rigged, kangaroo court proceedings run by a biased, conflicted judge and an unethical, politicized Democratic Party prosecution team. Today is a terrible day for the rule of law that will go down in infamy. This whole process is compromised, and this verdict should be overturned in an emergency fashion.
Biden-Harris 2024 Communications Director Michael Tyler issued the following statement on today’s verdict:In New York today, we saw that no one is above the law.
Donald Trump has always mistakenly believed he would never face consequences for breaking the law for his own personal gain. But today’s verdict does not change the fact that the American people face a simple reality. There is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: at the ballot box. Convicted felon or not, Trump will be the Republican nominee for president.
The threat Trump poses to our democracy has never been greater.
"What happens to the U.S. presidency and our constitutional system?" worried legal commentator John Yoo.Import the Third World, become the Third World. That’s what we just saw. This won’t stop Trump. He’ll win the election if he’s not killed first. But it does mark the end of the fairest justice system in the world. Anyone who defends this verdict is a danger to you and your…
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) May 30, 2024
This decision is a disgrace to the rule of law and our constitution..
Dems invented a felony to "get Trump," with the help of a Soros funded prosecutor and a Biden donor Judge, who rigged the entire case to get this outcome. This isn't justice, it's election interference. — J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) May 30, 2024
Guilty on all counts. The country is disgraced. Alvin Bragg should be disbarred. They will rue the day they unleashed this lawfare to corrupt a presidential election.
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) May 30, 2024
The verdict is a travesty of justice.
The Manhattan kangaroo court shows what happens when our justice system is weaponized by partisan prosecutors in front of a biased judge with an unfair process, designed to keep President Trump off the campaign trail and avoid bringing… — Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) May 30, 2024
