Former President of the United States (US), Donald Trump has been found guilty of falsifying business records.
A New York jury, on Thursday, found Trump guilty of 34 counts preferred against him.
The verdicts read in the courtroom showed that the 34 counts stemmed from 11 invoices, 12 vouchers, and 11 from his former personal lawyer, who fronted the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels, an adult film star.
Trump was charged with falsifying business records to conceal the payment to Daniels in exchange for her silence about a sexual encounter she claimed happened with the former president in 2006.
Trump had pleaded not guilty and denied having sex with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.
Prosecutors also accused Trump of taking part in an illegal conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the 2016 election and an unlawful plan to suppress “negative information” revolving around the adult film star.
Todd Blanche, the former president’s attorney, moved for an acquittal of the charges, but Juan Merchan, the Presiding Judge, denied the acquittal motion.
One of the charges read: “The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about February 14, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an invoice from Michael Cohen dated February 14, 2017, marked as a record of the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.”
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“The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about February 14, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an entry in the Detail General Ledger for the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, bearing voucher number 842457, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization,” another charge read.
CNN reports that Trump’s legal team is likely going to make the argument that their client would have never been able to get a fair trial in Manhattan.
“They’re playing a long game here.
“And they’re thinking of every possible objection. The strategy was described to me as ‘death by a thousand cuts’ and they’ve been racking up every objecting, every possible constitutional question they can raise before an appeals court,” CNN’s chief legal affairs correspondent, Paula Reid said of Trump’s legal team.
In his response, Trump described the trial as a “disgrace”, saying he is a “very innocent man.”
“We didn’t do a thing wrong. I’m a very innocent man,” Trump said after leaving the courtroom.
“The real verdict is going to be November 5 by the people… They know what happened here and everybody knows what happened here,” he added.
Trump who presided over the US between 2017 and 2021, is seeking to take on incumbent President Joe Biden in next year’s election.
The trial may have an impact on Trump’s chances to reclaim the White House as he is the first American President to become a felon.
Merchan fixed a sentencing hearing for July 11.
