MANHATTAN (CN) — A New York City jury on Thursday convicted former President Donald Trump on all counts accusing him of falsifying business records to cover up a hush-money scheme related to his 2016 presidential run.
It was just before 4:30 p.m. and New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan was about to send the jurors home when they sent the court a note that read, “We the jury have verdict.”
Ten suspenseful minutes passed as Trump waited patiently at the defense table. When the jurors returned, the foreman revealed the former president’s fate: guilty on all 34 counts.
Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche verbally moved for acquittal following the guilty verdict. He argued that there is “no basis or no way that the jury could have reached this verdict without accepting the testimony from Michael Cohen,” who he claimed lied on the stand in this trial.
Merchan shot down the motion immediately. He scheduled Trump’s sentencing for July 11 at 10 a.m.
Trump clutched his son Eric Trump’s arm as he exited the courtroom. His face red, he didn’t look at the press in the gallery as he stormed out.
“This was a disgrace,” Trump told cameras outside of the courtroom. “This was a rigged trial by a conflicted judge who was corrupt. It's a rigged trial, a disgrace. They wouldn't give us a venue change. We were at 5% or 6% in this district, in this area. This was a rigged, disgraceful trial."
Trump pivoted to talking about the upcoming presidential election, claiming that the "real verdict is going to be Nov. 5 by the people."
"I'm a very innocent man," he said. "And it's OK, I'm fighting for our country. I'm fighting for our Constitution. Our whole country is being rigged right now."
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg applauded the jurors' verdict at press conference Thursday afternoon, telling reporters: “This type of white-collar prosecution is core to what we do the Manhattan District attorney’s office.”
“I did my job, we did our jobs,” he said. He acknowledged that there had been “many” critical voices, “but the only voice that matters is the voice of the jury, and the jury has spoken.”
“Donald J. Trump has been convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records,” he reiterated at the close of the press conference.
Bragg declined to comment on questions about whether his office will seek a term of imprisonment, or about any possible retribution by Trump.
News of the 34 guilty verdicts echoed count-by-count in the crowd that gathered outside in Collect Pond Park directly across the street from the courthouse on Thursday afternoon, repeating each individual count as each verdict was Tweeted out and announced live on satellite radio.
“Guilty, guilty, guilty,” the crowd immediately chanted, followed by “Lock him up” with increasing enthusiasm.
One man slowly and repeatedly intoned “Wake up, MAGA.”
A woman on the anti-Trump side of the park stood on a park bench and declared that it was “a good day for democracy and a great day for justice.”
The New York City progressive activist group Rise and Resist distributed red and black posters with Trump’s face next to slogans: “Not Above The Law,” “No Dictators in the U.S.A.” and “Election Interference Is A Crime.”
Most of the supporters of Trump who had hung around throughout the trial headed away from the park and around the corner to Worth Street, where Trump’s motorcade passed growing a crowd of spectators every afternoon of the trial as he headed toward the FDR Drive parkway to return uptown to Trump Tower.
The crowd of supporters chanted “Let’s Go Trump” as the motorcade slowed down for Trump to wave from behind tinted windows, while another crowd on the other side of the street chanted, “guilty, guilty.”
The historic case came to a close after roughly 12 hours — spanning two days — of deliberation among the 12 Manhattan jurors, who ultimately concurred with the prosecutors’ argument that Trump conspired to bury negative stories about his presidential campaign then used phony documents to cover his tracks.
“This was overt election fraud,” prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said during summations.
Trump is the first American president, current or former, to face criminal charges. As of Thursday, he’s also the first president to become a convicted felon.
The prosecution's star witness was Cohen, Trump’s fixer-turned-foe who testified that Trump directed him to pay hush money in 2016 to adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep her from telling the press that she had sex with Trump in 2006.
Following Thursday's verdict, Cohen told Courthouse News that it was "an important day for accountability and the rule of law."
"While it has been a difficult journey for me and my family, the truth always matters," he said.
Prosecutors proved their case, as the jury determined, that Trump fudged records to repay Cohen for handling the $130,000 payment to keep Daniels quiet. But she wasn't the only case of hush-money, according to Cohen, who testified that he orchestrated similar payments to protect Trump’s presidential campaign from the billionaire’s salacious past.
In fact, Trump had a warning for Cohen after announcing his presidential run: “Be prepared. There’s going to be a lot of women coming forward,” Trump said, according to Cohen's testimony.
Daniels also testified at trial, telling jurors that she was “ashamed” to have sex with Trump nearly two decades ago. She recalled in vivid detail the 2006 encounter — which Trump vehemently denies — telling jurors that Trump showed no interest in keeping it a secret until he decided to run for president years later.
Both Daniels and Cohen were forthcoming about their current disdain for Trump, which the former president’s lawyers pounced upon in efforts to discredit their respective testimonies.
Throughout the trial, Trump repeatedly attacked the integrity of the proceedings, claiming them to be “rigged” against him. He accused the case’s judge, New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, of being bought and paid for by President Joe Biden.
“Mother Teresa could not beat these charges,” Trump declared to reporters when jurors started deliberating.
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