Donald Trump guilty on all counts in historic verdict; Biden campaign responds to opponent's conviction

Former Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance offered his congratulations Thursday to his successor, Alvin Bragg, on “conducting a nearly flawless trial in a very difficult situation.”

“I think it’s an important case that really helps define what the rule of law is supposed to mean,” he told The Associated Press.

Todd Blanche, Donald Trump’s defense lawyer, suggested they would appeal New York Judge Juan M. Merchan’s decision not to recuse himself from the trial.

Speaking on Fox News, Blanche said he didn’t think the former president received a fair trial, and claimed baselessly Merchan was biased.

Pennsylvania Republicans working to help President Donald Trump win Pennsylvania slammed his conviction on Thursday.

Pennsylvania State. Rep. Russ Diamond posted on social media a photo of Trump fist pumping and said: “Looks like I'll be voting 34x harder for this fellow in November.”

In the moments after his guilty verdict, former President Donald Trump criticized the trial and the New York judge who presided over it. But in an interview with The Inquirer, one of Trump's former attorneys from Philadelphia disagreed with his ex-client.

Defense lawyer William J. Brennan described Judge Juan Merchan — who Trump has relentlessly attacked as biased throughout his trial — as “a total gentleman.”

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg praised members of the jury after they found former President Donald Trump guilty of all counts in his hush-money trial.

“The 12 everyday jurors vowed to make a decision based on the evidence and the law, and the evidence and the law alone,” Bragg told reporters Thursday evening. “Their deliberations led them to a unanimous conclusion, beyond the reasonable doubt, that the defendant, Donald J. Trump, is guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree to conceal a scheme to corrupt the 2016 election.”

Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, the Republican nominee in the race for the state's open Senate seat, called on Americans to "respect" the guilty verdict in former President Donald Trump's hush-money case.

"Regardless of the result, I urge all Americans to respect the verdict and the legal process," Hogan said in a statement posted on social media. "At this dangerously divided moment in our history, all leaders—regardless of party — must not pour fuel on the fire with more toxic partisanship. We must reaffirm what has made this nation great: the rule of law."

Pennsylvania’s Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick called the Trump verdict “a terrible day for America and for trust in our justice system.”

“This case should never have been brought in the first place, and this miscarriage of justice is despicable,” McCormick said in a statement. “I look forward to the appeal. “

No. Presidents can only issue pardons for those who have committed federal offenses. The charges of which he was convicted Thursday are New York state crimes.

The same is true should a jury find him guilty of the state charges in his Georgia election interference case.

Polling has indicated a guilty verdict could erode some support for former President Donald Trump.

A March Politico and Ipsos survey found that a conviction could cost Trump more than one-third of independents. A February NBC News poll showed that a conviction in the New York trial could trigger a big swing from 18- to 34-year-old voters from Trump to Biden. And an ABC News/Ipsos survey from late April found that 20% of Trump supporters polled would “either reconsider their support (16%) or withdraw it (4%)” if he’s convicted.

President Joe Biden's campaign responded to Donald Trump's conviction Thursday saying the threat the former president poses to democracy is unchanged by the court decision.

“Donald Trump has always mistakenly believed he would never face consequences for breaking the law for his own personal gain," Biden-Harris 2024 communications director Michael Tyler said. "But today’s verdict does not change the fact that the American people face a simple reality. There is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: at the ballot box. Convicted felon or not, Trump will be the Republican nominee for president."

Former President Donald Trump baselessly called his trial “rigged” and “disgraceful” after a jury found him guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records.

“We didn’t do a thing wrong. I’m a very innocent man,” Trump claimed outside a Manhattan courtroom.

Donald Trump has been free on bail throughout the trial and will remain so until at least his sentencing on July 11.

That date falls four days before he the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where he is expected to accept his party’s presidential nomination.

While it’s possible Donald Trump could be sent to prison for up to four years in prison for each of the 34 counts of which he was convicted, legal experts say it’s unlikely Judge Juan Merchan will sentence the former president to time behind bars.

In weighing that decision, the judge must consider several factors including Trump’s age, 77, and his lack of previous convictions — not to mention the logistical and security complications of potentially imprisoning a former head of state (who enjoys lifetime protection by the Secret Service) and a current candidate for president.

The jury has convicted Donald Trump on all of the felony counts of falsifying business records in his hush money trial.

Trump’s conviction makes him the first former president and first major-party presidential candidate to be convicted of felony crimes.

The jury in Donald Trump’s hush money trial has reached a verdict, signaling a highly anticipated culmination of the first criminal case against a former American president.

The verdict from the 12-person jury is expected to be delivered soon in the Manhattan courtroom where prosecutors spent weeks presenting allegations that Trump participated in a hush money scheme aimed at suppressing stories he feared could be harmful to his 2016 presidential campaign.

Between now and Election Day on Nov. 5, there is a packed political calendar filled with debates, political conventions, and even a primary or two.

Here what the calendar looks like:

Former President Donald Trump still faces three more cases, but for various reasons none are expected to go to trial ahead of his 2024 election rematch against President Joe Biden.

Trump was also ordered to pay $454 million after a judge found him and his company liable during a civil trial for falsifying business records, conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, and issuing false financial statements.