In a historic and dramatic moment, the jury in New York delivered a resounding verdict Thursday in Donald Trump’s hush-money trial, finding former president guilty on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
This unprecedented decision marks the first time in American history that a former president has been convicted of criminal charges.
A hush fell over the courtroom late in the afternoon as the jury handed Judge Juan M. Merchan a note.
“We the jury have a verdict. We would like an extra 30 minutes to fill out the forms if that’d be possible,” the note read. The jury had deliberated for 9.5 hours over two days after a three-week trial.
The twice-impeached, four-times indicted, and now convicted Trump faced charges connected to a $130,000 hush-money payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels in the days leading up to the 2016 election. The trial featured weeks of tawdry testimony about tabloid deal-making and the alleged sexual encounter between Trump and Daniels. Prosecutors argued that Trump engaged in a fraud against the American people by falsifying records related to the reimbursement of his former lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, who paid Daniels out of his own pocket.
The courtroom was silent as the jury’s verdict was read aloud: “Guilty, guilty, guilty…” repeated 34 times, solidifying the former president’s fate. Trump, who is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee for 2024, now faces a potential sentence ranging from probation to four years in prison. His legal team has already indicated plans to appeal, a process that could extend over several years.
After the guilty charges were announced, Trump said the trial was “rigged.”
“We will fight for our constitution. This is far from over,” the former president continued.
The conviction has drawn sharp reactions from political figures.
“Today’s verdict out of New York affirms what the Washington State Democratic Party has been saying for more than eight years – Convicted Felon Donald Trump is wholly unfit to lead our nation,” said Shasti Conrad, chair of the Washington State Democratic Party, declared. “His conviction today by a jury of his peers demonstrates the lengths Convicted Felon Trump will go to and the laws he will break to get what he wants – another four years of power at the expense of hard-working Americans.
Conrad said he and the party will continue to resist Donald Trump’s campaign of lies, grift, and autocratic desires with every fiber of our being every minute of every day until the election is over and we have prevented the end of democracy…again.”
This criminal case is one of four Trump is currently facing, but it is likely the only one that will go to trial before Election Day. Trump faces as much as four years in prison, but because he’s viewed as a first-time offender and the convictions are on low-level felonies, he’ll likely receive probation.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, founder and president of the National Action Network (NAN) said he couldn’t help but think of the Central Park Five, the group of then 14 and 15-year-olds who Trump infamously called for New York to reinstate the death penalty in order to punish them for allegedly raping a white woman in April 1989. Though they were eventually exonerated of the charges, Trump has yet to apologize for his harsh words.
“I couldn’t help but think throughout this trial of Donald Trump sitting through days of testimony in Manhattan Criminal Court. This is the same building that Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise all passed into, day after day, as they endured a show trial for a crime they did not commit. These children had to hear vitriol from people whose anger was incited by a man who spent a small fortune on full-page ads calling for their execution,” said Sharpton in a NAN statement submitted to The Washington Informer. “Now the shoe is on the other foot. Donald Trump is the criminal, and those five men are exonerated. I’m reminded of Dr. King’s proverb that the arc of history is long, but it bends toward justice.”
In this election season, Sharpton offered a call for action.
“What happens next is crucial. We cannot allow the hate speech that Donald Trump spewed in 1989, 2016, or 2024 to be mimicked by those who have stood against his actions. A lot will be said about the first conviction of a former president in our nearly 250-year history. The discourse will carry on for weeks, months, and years. We cannot allow it to be guided by sore winners who gloat over this conviction, when it only stands to ignite the Donald Trumps all over this nation who still want to take us back to the pre-1964 era,” Sharpton said.
He encouraged voters to choose “leaders who will protect democracy – not who want to kill it.”
For tickets and more information about Step Afrika!’s “The Migration: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence,” visit arenastage.org.
