Former President Donald Trump has been found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, becoming the first former American president to be tried and convicted of a crime. The guilty verdict means the jury determined Trump falsified the business records with the intent to conceal another crime.
The jury deliberated for about 10 hours.
Trump was accused of falsifying the records to hide a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Prosecutors said the hush money payment violated campaign finance laws because it was meant to influence an election. However, Trump was not tried on that accusation.
The prosecution’s case relied heavily on the testimony of Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen. Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress in 2018 and admitted to stealing from the Trump organization while on the witness stand.
The defense tried to discredit Cohen by pointing out his lies and calling him the “GLOAT,” meaning the greatest liar of all time.
Trump is certain to appeal the verdict. Meanwhile, he is still facing the classified documents case, the Georgia election case and special counsel’s Jack Smith’s case on attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Trump is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11.
