JAKARTA - Former US President Donald Trump has called the guilty verdict made by a jury in a New York court a disgrace, just five months before the presidential election in November.
Trump became the first US president to be convicted of a crime, after being found guilty of falsifying documents to cover up payments to silence a porn star ahead of the 2016 election.
After two days of deliberation, a 12-member jury found Trump guilty of all 34 charges he faced.
Judge Juan Merchan will hand down the sentence on July 11, days before the Republican Party is expected to nominate Trump for president ahead of the November 5 election.
Trump (77), who has denied wrongdoing, is expected to appeal.
"This is a disgrace," Trump told reporters afterwards as he declared his innocence and repeated complaints that the trial had been rigged against him, Reuters reported on May 31.
"The real verdict will be on November 5 by the people," he said.
Trump faces a maximum sentence of four years in prison, although others convicted of the crime have often received lighter sentences, fines or probation.
A jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business documents after a five-week trial that featured explicit testimony from porn star Stormy Daniels about a sexual encounter she said occurred with Trump in 2006 while he was married to his current wife Melania. Trump has denied ever having sex with Daniels.
His incarceration will not prevent him from campaigning, or from holding office if he wins the upcoming election, and he will not be jailed until he is sentenced.
Judge Merchan thanked the jurors for their service and told them they were free to speak about their experiences as jurors if they wanted.
"No one can force you to do anything you don't want to do. The choice is yours," Merchan said.
Separately, Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen testified that Trump agreed to a $130,000 hush-money payment to Daniels in the final weeks of the 2016 election, when he was facing multiple allegations of sexual assault.
Cohen testified that he handled the payment, and that Trump agreed to a plan to reimburse him through monthly payments disguised as legal work.
Trump’s lawyers have criticized Cohen’s credibility, highlighting his criminal and prison records and his history of lying. Judge Merchan also warned jurors to scrutinize his testimony carefully.
The jury told the court they had reached their verdict at 4:20 p.m. local time and read all 34 guilty counts shortly after 5 p.m.
Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche asked Judge Merchan to overturn the guilty verdict, arguing that it was based on Cohen’s unreliable testimony. Judge Merchan denied his request.
The White House declined to comment. Trump’s fellow Republicans were quick to condemn the verdict.
“Today is a shameful day in American history,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a written statement.
Falsifying business documents is usually a misdemeanor in New York. But prosecutors in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office elevated it to a felony, arguing that Trump hid illegal campaign contributions.
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Trump himself complained that he could not get a fair trial in his very Democratic hometown.
Quoting VOA, this decision makes Trump the first former president to be found guilty of a serious crime in the nearly 250-year history of Uncle Sam's country.
It is known that if elected, Trump can close two federal cases accusing him of illegally trying to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election, as well as mishandling classified documents after leaving office in 2021. He will not have the authority to stop a separate election subversion case that occurred in Georgia.
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