A jury of 12 New Yorkers found former President Donald Trump guilty on all 34 counts in the “hush money” trial in Manhattan, Thursday afternoon, agreeing that he violated the law by falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.
The jury sided with prosecutors who said that Trump authorized the plan to falsify checks and related records in an effort to prevent voters from learning of an alleged sexual encounter with Daniels. Prosecutors for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said the conspiracy spanned his 2016 campaign and continued well into his first year in the White House. Trump denied having sex with Daniels and pleaded not guilty.
Donald Trump, popular opposition leader, presumptive Republican nominee for president and current frontrunner is now a convicted felon.
Shortly after the verdict was announced, Joe Biden posted a campaign ad on X saying: “There’s only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: At the ballot box. Donate to our campaign today.”
Conservative pundits unleashed fury on X following the rigged verdict.
“Such bullshit,” commented Donald Trump Jr.
“The Democrats have succeeded in their years long attempt to turn America into a third-world shithole. November 5 is our last chance to save it,” Don Jr. wrote in a subsequent post.
“The country is disgraced,” wrote conservative talk show host Megyn Kelly. “Alvin Bragg should be disbarred. They will rue the day they unleashed this lawfare to corrupt a presidential election.”
In a statement posted onto social media, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) decried the weaponized process, calling it it a “political exercise.”
“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,” Johnson said. “This was a purely political exercise, not a legal one.”
The weaponization of our justice system has been a hallmark of the Biden Administration, and the decision today is further evidence that Democrats will stop at nothing to silence dissent and crush their political opponents.
The American people see this as lawfare, and they know it is wrong—and dangerous. President Trump will rightfully appeal this absurd verdict—and he WILL WIN!
George Washington Law Professor Jonathan Turley, who covered the trial from the courtroom, also shared his thoughts on the verdict on X:
“I obviously disagree with this verdict as do many others,” Turley wrote. “I believe that the case will be reversed eventually either in the state or federal systems. However, this was the worst expectation for a trial in Manhattan. I am saddened by the result more for the New York legal system than the former president. I had hoped that the jurors might redeem the integrity of a system that has been used for political purposes.”
Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said it was “a sad day for America.” “How long can our Republic survive once partisans have taken over the judicial process?” Paul wrote on X. “This verdict will tragically undermine Americans’ confidence in impartial justice.”
Conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson also weighed in:
“Import the Third World, become the Third World,” Carlson wrote on X. “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 family.”
The Federalist’s Sean Davis didn’t mince words: “If you’re a Republican running for office, you can just go ahead and throw away all of your elegant little policy proposals for this or that corporate exclusion or tax subsidy,” he wrote on X. “Give me a list of which Democrat officials you’re going to put in prison, or get lost.”
There’s only one way to deal with nuclear war, which is what Democrats have unleashed, and that is mutually assured destruction. Democrats declared war on our entire system of justice and the rule of law, and our only options are victory or defeat. I intend to win. Do you?
Trump’s former Republican rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also put out a lengthy statement:
Today’s verdict represents the culmination of a legal process that has been bent to the political will of the actors involved: a leftist prosecutor, a partisan judge and a jury reflective of one of the most liberal enclaves in America—all in an effort to “get” Donald Trump.
That this case—involving alleged misdemeanor business records violations from nearly a decade ago—was even brought is a testament to the political debasement of the justice system in places like New York City. This is especially true considering this same district attorney routinely excuses criminal conduct in a way that has endangered law-abiding citizens in his jurisdiction.
It is often said that no one is above the law, but it is also true that no one is below the law. If the defendant were not Donald Trump, this case would never have been brought, the judge would have never issued similar rulings, and the jury would have never returned a guilty verdict.
In America, the rule of law should be applied in a dispassionate, even-handed manner, not become captive to the political agenda of some kangaroo court.
Earlier on Truth Social the former president raged about what he complained had been an “unfair,” “unconstitutional” “witch hunt.”
“The Jury Instructions given by HIGHLY CONFLICTED Judge, Juan Merchan, were UNFAIR, MISLEADING, INACCURATE, AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL,” Trump wrote. “They were also VERY CONFUSING (Just what the Judge wanted!), BECAUSE THERE WAS NO CRIME!”
He continued in a subsequent post: “Not only did this HIGHLY CONFLICTED, BIASED Judge, Juan Merchan, prevent me from presenting the fact that I did not take a Tax Deduction on the Legal Expense (which was marked, correctly, as a Legal Expense), the Judge also did not allow my lawyers to get Tax Records from the former attorney, whose name I am not allowed to mention due to the Unconstitutional Gag Order imposed upon me. ELECTION INTERFERENCE! WITCH HUNT!”
He concluded: “MY CIVIL RIGHTS HAVE BEEN TOTALLY VIOLATED WITH THIS HIGHLY POLITICAL, UNCONSTITUTIONAL, AND ELECTION INTERFERING WITCH HUNT. OUR FAILING NATION IS BEING LAUGHED AT ALL OVER THE WORLD!”
Trump shared more of his thoughts on the “rigged trial” with reporters after the verdict.
“The real verdict will be November 5th by the people,” Trump said. “The whole country is being rigged right now. This is being done by the Biden Administration in order to hurt or wound a political opponent,” he added. “We’ll fight to the end and we’ll win…this is long from over.”
UPDATE:
Trump delivered the following remarks at Trump Tower in New York City, Friday morning:
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