By: Jarrett Stepman, The Daily Signal
A Manhattan jury found former President Donald Trump guilty Thursday on all 34 charges of falsifying business records to hide “hush money” payments in 2016 to former pornographic movie actress Stormy Daniels.
Upon leaving the courthouse, Trump called the trial a disgrace and said, “This was a rigged trial by a conflicted judge who is corrupt.” He continued: “The real verdict is going to be Nov. 5 by the people.”
Trump faces up to four years in prison.
BREAKING: Donald Trump says the "real verdict" will be decided on election day November 5th, 2024, calls out George Soros after being found guilty.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) May 30, 2024
"It's okay, I'm fighting for our country... I'm fighting for our constitution."
Trump also called out President Biden, saying the… pic.twitter.com/3QibqBSCrt
Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts issued a statement on the conviction:
This verdict is a travesty to our republic. This was a bogus prosecution engineered by President Biden and his weaponized DOJ that has made the New York justice system look like that of a third-world country where government officials engage in partisan prosecutions against their political opponents.
The Heritage Foundation launched The Daily Signal in 2014.
The Biden campaign put out a statement saying that “no one is above the law.”
Biden-Harris Campaign Statement on Today’s Verdict pic.twitter.com/TEmdNsPmzP
— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) May 30, 2024
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said in a statement that the verdict represents a “dark day” in America:
This is a dark day for America. This entire trial has been a sham, and it is nothing more than political persecution. The only reason they prosecuted Donald Trump is because Democrats are terrified that he will win reelection. This disgraceful decision is legally baseless and should be overturned promptly on appeal. Any judge with a modicum of integrity would recognize that this entire trial has been utterly fraudulent.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, said in a statement on X that a guilty verdict never would have been reached if Trump wasn’t the person being charged.
Today’s verdict represents the culmination of a legal process that has been bent to the political will of the actors involved: a leftist prosecutor, a partisan judge and a jury reflective of one of the most liberal enclaves in America—all in an effort to “get” Donald Trump.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) May 30, 2024
That…
MoveOn.org, a liberal advocacy organization, called the verdict a “small degree of justice” in a statement:
Today, a jury concluded that Donald Trump broke the law. This verdict represents a small degree of justice against Trump and his enablers and now millions of MoveOn members will keep up their work to guarantee he loses at the ballot box, too.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., the No. 4 Republican in the House, said the verdict demonstrates that the nation’s legal system under President Joe Biden is “rigged.”
My statement on the rigged verdict in the New York City Biden Trial against President Trump:
— Elise Stefanik (@EliseStefanik) May 30, 2024
“Today’s verdict shows how corrupt, rigged, and unAmerican the weaponized justice system has become under Joe Biden and Democrats. I fully support President Trump appealing this decision…
Before beginning to deliberate on a verdict Wednesday, the 12-member jury received unusual instructions in Manhattan Criminal Court from Judge Juan Merchan, as Fox News’ John Roberts reported on X.
Judge Merchan just told the jury that they do not need unanimity to convict. 4 could agree on one crime, 4 on a different one, and the other 4 on another. He said he would treat 4-4-4 as a unanimous verdict.
— John Roberts (@johnrobertsFox) May 29, 2024
The former president spoke to reporters and onlookers Tuesday outside the court before closing arguments in his trial.
Tiffany Trump makes her first appearance at the sham Trump trial.
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) May 28, 2024
Don Jr, Eric, Lara, Michael Boulos (Tiffany's husband), Steve Witkoff, Will Scharf, and Deroy Murdock are also in attendance.pic.twitter.com/mrn6aDNThV
Also before those closing arguments, actor and liberal activist Robert De Niro showed up at the courthouse to denounce Trump and his supporters and express his own support for Biden.
The Democrats parade a washed up actor, Robert De Niro, outside of Trump's trial, a man who has spewed vile, pejorative-filled poison at Trump multiple times, and now he's upset Trump supporters are shouting at him in protest?!
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) May 28, 2024
De Niro is a unhinged, entitled maniac. pic.twitter.com/Ar9A0f60dS
Inside the courtroom during closing arguments, Trump’s lawyer argued that the prosecution had failed to come up with any evidence that Trump committed a crime.
“President Trump is innocent,” defense attorney Todd Blanche said. “He did not commit any crimes, and the district attorney has not met their burden of proof, period.”
Blanche was referring to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, an elected Democrat.
Trump’s attorney also pointed to the prosecution’s star witness, former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, as an unreliable witness with a history of lying.
“You cannot send someone to prison based on the words of Michael Cohen,” Blanche told the jury.
Merchan, the judge, reprimanded Blanche for this remark, calling it “outrageous” and “highly inappropriate.”
The prosecutor, Joshua Steinglass, rested his case by arguing that Trump’s defense was built on deception.
“The name of the game was concealment and all roads lead to the man who benefited most, the defendant, Donald Trump,” Steinglass said.
