Former President and 2024 hopeful Donald Trump has been found GUILTY of all thirty-four counts in hush-money trial in New York.
In an historic legal finding, after two days of deliberations, all twelve jurors decided Trump was guilty of charges relating to falsifying business documents during his 2016 US Election campaign.
He will be sentenced on July 11th.
He is the first American President to stand trial so therefore the first to be found guilty and the first person to stand for the highest office in the USA as a convicted criminal.
The prosecution had alleged that Donald Trump had covered up payments to the adult film star Stormy Daniels in the run-up to the 2016 US Election.
After hearing weeks of testimony from Trump team insiders, whistleblowers and Stormy Daniels herself, a jury of Trump’s peers concluded unanimously that the prosecution had proved their case.
After the finding, Donald Trump gave a message to the press saying the the trial was “rigged” before giving a campaigning speech ahead of November’s US Election, which he is due to run in representing the Republican Party.
Each of the 34 crimes has a maximum punishment of four years in prison. However, it is not considered likely that Trump will serve time. More likely is that he will be hitting the election campaign trail wearing an electronic ankle bracelet.
While it is allowed for a convicted criminal like Donald Trump to stand for the Presidency, one result of today’s finding is that Trump cannot now vote in the Republican Nomination for the office. Therefore, Trump cannot vote himself as the party’s nominee.
Following the reading out of the jury’s finding and Donald Trump found guilty, he returned to his New York home where a large crowd had gathered outside. He received a loud mixture of cheering and booing as he entered.
While the 45th President of the United States has galvanised his owm base with the rhetoric of a “rigged” trial, it remains to be seen how this historic finding is viewed in key swing states and in the small communities that will decide the next President in November.
For the latest updates on all news, Australian and international, tune into The Briefing on the LiSTNR App and select News.