Jurors returned a guilty verdict on Thursday in Donald Trump’s hush-money trial in New York, marking the first time a former U.S. president has been convicted of a crime.
The decision, which will likely be appealed, is the culmination of a weeks-long courtroom battle in which Trump claimed he was the target of a “political persecution” as he runs another campaign for a second term in the White House.
Legal experts doubt the 77-year-old Trump will end up being incarcerated, though the Secret Service reportedly coordinated with local jail officials just in case. The presiding judge is expected to schedule a separate hearing to determine a sentence. Possible alternatives to imprisonment include probation or community service.
Trump can still run for the presidency if he ends up behind bars.
At the heart of the case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg were 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal damaging information around the 2016 election as part of a “catch-and-kill” scheme. Prosecutors accused Trump of improperly masking reimbursements to repay his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, for a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence on an alleged extramarital affair by classifying them as legal expenses.
Trump has denied that the affair with Stormy Daniels ever happened and pleaded not guilty to the charges. His lawyers argued there was no intent to defraud or influence the 2016 election.
The trial began last month and featured nearly two dozen witnesses, including Cohen and Stormy Daniels. Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to multiple crimes, including lying to Congress, and served prison time.
Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, former White House aide Hope Hicks, and former federal prosecutor Robert Costello also testified. Trump himself did not take the stand.
Closing arguments took place on Tuesday after both sides rested their case last week and jury deliberations began on Wednesday. The 12 jurors made a couple of requests for information, including to rehear some witness testimony and the judge’s jury instructions.
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Bragg and Judge Juan Merchan, who presided over the trial, have faced intense blowback from Trump and his allies.
Republicans in the House opened an investigation and filed complaints, raising concerns about potential bias and misconduct tainting the case. With the judge, they set their focus on past donations to groups supporting Democrats and his daughter working as a political consultant for Democratic candidates.
Merchan refused to recuse himself and issued a gag order meant to stop Trump from commenting publicly on jurors, witnesses, and others linked to the case. Trump claimed the gag order violated his First Amendment rights and continued to speak out, resulting in thousands of dollars in fines.
Three other criminal matters on the state and federal levels hang over Trump as he seeks re-election this year, prompting the former president to say he is the victim of a politically motivated “witch hunt.” It is not clear whether any of those will reach the trial stage before the November election.
Despite all the court battles, Trump remains competitive in polling for the presidential race.
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden‘s campaign held an event outside the Manhattan courthouse with actor Robert De Niro, who claimed American freedoms “will perish from the Earth” if Trump wins the election. Trump shot back, saying the De Niro “looked so pathetic and sad out there.” His adviser, Jason Miller, said, “President Trump’s numbers continue to rise, and the best that Biden can do is roll out a washed up actor.”
