Ex-President of the United States, Donald Trump has been found guilty of falsifying business records.
A New York jury found Trump guilty of 34 counts preferred against him, on Thursday, May 31, 204, less than five months before the 2024 election.
The American leader, 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. He is the first American president to become a felon.
Trump, 77, was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records to hide a payment to silence porn star Stormy Daniels.
Despite being released without bail and planning to appeal, Trump denounced the verdict as “rigged” and a “disgrace,” asserting that the true verdict would come from voters in the November election.
The trial, which concluded with unanimous jury decisions after 11 hours of deliberation, highlighted allegations that Trump reimbursed his lawyer, Michael Cohen, for a $130,000 payment to Daniels before the 2016 election to suppress damaging information about an alleged sexual encounter in 2006.
Trump’s defense argued that attempting to influence an election is a part of democracy and that Trump did nothing wrong.
Sentencing was set for July 11 – right before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where Trump is due to receive the party’s formal nomination to face Democratic President Joe Biden in the election.
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