NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump has been found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records. Sentencing is set for July 11.
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McConnell says he expects Trump’s conviction to be overturned
Update 9:33 p.m. EDT May 30: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell took to social media Thursday evening saying he expected that Trump’s conviction would be overturned, The Associated Press reported.
“These charges never should have been brought in the first place. I expect the conviction to be overturned on appeal,” McConnell said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
These charges never should have been brought in the first place. I expect the conviction to be overturned on appeal.
— Leader McConnell (@LeaderMcConnell) May 31, 2024
- Jessica Goodman, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Michael Cohen not surprised by verdict
Update 9:27 p.m. EDT May 30: Michael Cohen was “relieved” after Trump’s verdict came out and was not surprised by it.
“This has been six years in the making,” he told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, according to CNN.
“At the end of the day, the facts are what prevailed here,” Cohen said. “It’s accountability, it’s exactly what America needs right now.”
Cohen “demonstrated remarkable courage throughout the proceedings,” Cohen’s lawyer, Danya Perry said, adding “The jury’s unanimous verdict is a testament to his credibility and the truthfulness of his testimony,” according to The New York Times.
- Jessica Goodman, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Trump plans to appeal his guilty verdict, his lawyer says
Update 9:23 p.m. EDT May 30: Trump’s defense lawyer Todd Blanche told Fox News that he expects to appeal the judge’s decision to not rescue himself, according to The Associated Press. His lawyers argued that Judge Merchan should not have presided over the case due to signs of bias.
- Jessica Goodman, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Stormy Daniels releases statement through her lawyer
Update 7:46 p.m. EDT May 30: Stormy Daniel’s lawyer Clark Brewster said that she “is relieved that this case is now over,” in a statement following Trump’s conviction, The New York Times reported.
“She always had great faith in our justice system and in the solemn oath jurors take in undertaking their service,” Brewster said. “No man is above the law, and the selfless hardworking service of each of these jurors should be respected and appreciated.”
Her husband, Barrett Blade, made a statement.
“It’s a big weight off her shoulders at this point,” Blade told CNN.
“She was brought into this. This wasn’t her seeking justice for herself. She was standing up for herself early on and saying what was right, but this whole hush money trial is really nothing … it’s not her story,” he said.
- Jessica Goodman, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Trump says he will speak at Trump Tower Friday
Update 7:11 p.m. EDT May 30: Trump announced on Truth Social that he will hold a news conference around 11 a.m. EST at Trump Tower, CNN reported.
-- Jessica Goodman, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg holds news conference
Update 6:51 p.m. EDT May 30: Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the case against Trump, held a news conference Thursday evening just before 7 p.m. EST.
“The defendant, Donald J. Trump, is guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree to conceal a scheme to corrupt the 2016 election,” Bragg said, according to The New York Times.
He said that prosecutors followed facts and the law “without fear or favor,” according to The Associated Press.
“I did my job. Our job is to follow the facts without fear or favor, and that’s what we did here.” Bragg said. “I did my job, we did our jobs.” He said that there are many voices out there, “but the only voice that matters is the voice of the jury, and the jury has spoken.”
Bragg was asked if he would request a prison sentence but he did not say.
“The judge scheduled sentencing for July 11th. We will speak in court at that time. We also set a motion schedule. We’ll speak as we have done throughout this proceeding,” Bragg said, according to CNN.
“Donald J. Trump has been convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records,” Bragg finished the news conference, according to the Times.
-- Jessica Goodman, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
White House Counsel’s Office spokesman makes statement
Update 6:01 p.m. EDT May 30: “We respect the rule of law, and have no additional comment,” said White House Counsel’s Office spokesman Ian Sams, according to The New York Times.
Biden is with his family in Delaware and is not expected to make any public appearances for the rest of the day, the Times reported.
-- Jessica Goodman, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Biden’s campaign releases statement moments after verdict was announced
Update 5:49 p.m. EDT May 30: Biden’s campaign communications director, Michael Tyler released a statement following the verdict, according to CNN.
“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,” Michael Tyler, Biden 2024 campaign communications director, wrote in a statement.
”The threat Trump poses to our democracy has never been greater,” Tyler wrote. “A second Trump term means chaos, ripping away Americans’ freedoms and fomenting political violence — and the American people will reject it this November.”
-- Jessica Goodman, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
House Speaker Mike Johnson makes statement after Trump’s conviction
Update 5:46 p.m. EDT May 30: “A shameful day in American history,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said after Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records, according to CNN.
“The American people see this as lawfare, and they know it is wrong—and dangerous,” Johnson said in the statement. “President Trump will rightfully appeal this absurd verdict—and he WILL WIN!”
My statement on President Trump trial verdict:
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) May 30, 2024
Today is a shameful day in American history. Democrats cheered as they convicted the leader of the opposing party on ridiculous charges, predicated on the testimony of a disbarred, convicted felon. This was a purely political…
-- Jessica Goodman, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Biden in Delaware for the day
Update 5:43 p.m. EDT May 30: President Biden is in Delaware to honor his son, Beau Biden, who died of brain cancer at the age of 46 nine years ago, according to The Washington Post.
-- Jessica Goodman, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Trump makes statement outside courtroom
Update 5:25 p.m. EDT May 30: Trump addressed reporters outside the courtroom after he was found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records.
“This was a disgrace,” Trump said, according to The New York Times. “This was a rigged trial by a conflicted judge who was corrupt.”
“We will fight for our Constitution. This is long from over.” Then, looking more somber than I have seen him at any point in the last several months, he walks away from the cameras and does not answer questions.
He spoke for about three minutes.
Trump said he is an innocent man, according to The Associated Press.
-- Jessica Goodman, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Sentencing scheduled for July 11
Update 5:19 p.m. EDT May 30: Judge Merchan has scheduled a sentencing date for July 11 at 10 a.m. EST, according to the Times. It is scheduled just days before he is set to be selected as the Republican presidential nominee, the AP reported.
-- Jessica Goodman, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Trump looked down as verdict was read
Update 5:14 p.m. EDT May 30: Trump sat in the courtroom looking down as the verdict was read, according to the AP.
-- Jessica Goodman, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Trump has been found guilty on all counts
Update 5:10 p.m. EDT May 30: Trump has been convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records.
-- Jessica Goodman, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Jury enters courtroom
Update 5:05 p.m. EDT May 30: The jury has started filling in, according to CNN.
-- Jessica Goodman, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Judge takes bench
Update 5:02 p.m. EDT May 30: Judge Merchan is back on the bench, according to The New York Times.
He has asked if both parties are ready for the jury and both have said yes, CNN reported.
-- Jessica Goodman, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Original story: The jury has reached a verdict in the hush money case against former President Donald Trump.
The jury has asked for 30 minutes extra to fill out verdict forms, according to The New York Times.
The former president was charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records after prosecutors said he tried to hide reimbursements made to his fixer and former attorney Michael Cohen. Cohen paid adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 days before the 2016 presidential election. Each charge was a felony.
Daniels claimed she and the former president had an affair.
Trump has denied wrongdoing.
The jury got the case on Wednesday morning after more than a month of testimony and hours of closing arguments.
Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche, in his final statement, said the prosecutors did not meet the burden of proof, questioned the credibility of Cohen’s testimony and denied that marking the reimbursements as legal fees was nefarious.
“There is no other way to categorize an invoice from a lawyer,” Blanche said, according to The Washington Post.
Blanche called Cohen “literally the greatest liar of all time,” CNN reported. Cohen admitted that he had stolen money from the Trump organization.
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass admitted that Cohen had lied to Trump, adding that Trump’s attorneys were using the former fixer’s lies to undermine him, The New York Times reported.
“We didn’t choose Michael Cohen to be our witness. We didn’t pick him up at the witness store,” Steinglass said, according to the Post. “The defendant chose Michael Cohen to be his fixer because he was willing to cheat and lie on his behalf.”
The prosecutor said the case was centered on “a conspiracy and a cover-up,” the Times reported.
“The name of the game was concealment, and all roads lead inescapably to the man that benefited the most, the defendant, former President Donald J. Trump,” he said, CNN reported.
Trump faces up to four years in prison on each count against him. He could also be sentenced to probation, according to the Times.
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