IN A HISTORIC decision, a former U.S. President—Donald Trump—was found guilty by a Manhattan jury of all 34 counts of falsifying business records on Thursday. This makes him the first-ever U.S. President to be convicted of a felony.
Trump was recently accused of falsifying business records about an alleged hush-money payment given to Stormy Daniels, an adult film star, who claimed that she and Trump had had an affair.
The time these payments were made during the 2016 presidential elections, where Trump was subsequently elected US President. He allegedly paid Daniels hush money to keep the scandal from derailing his campaign and then hid any records of it to cover up traces.
This criminal case was brought to court in Manhattan, New York, where the jury found that Trump purposefully faked records to hide the purpose of the money given to Michael D. Cohen, who was his fixer at the time.
Prosecutors accused him of being part of an illegal conspiracy, which aimed to undermine the integrity of the elections, suppressing negative information via the concealment of the hush money given to Daniels.
They were noted on record to be ordinary legal expenses when it was USD $130,000 worth of hush money, to be given to Daniels to keep her quiet.
The jury found Trump guilty of all 34 felony charges and will be sentenced this coming July 11 by Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan. He also still has three other pending criminal cases on top of this.
Trump was described as having been paying close attention during the trial, talking to his lawyer, passing notes to him, and sitting with a seemingly annoyed or frustrated expression on his face.
At present, Trump continues to walk around like a free man. The former president may be looking at four years in prison for each count, but it is still unsure whether he will be sentenced to time in prison or will only be given probation.
Many also speculate that Trump will appeal the verdict. Despite being found guilty, he is still eligible to run for office.
