A New York jury unanimously convicted Donald Trump on all 34 counts in the criminal case against him on Thursday for falsifying business records to disguise a $130,000 hush money payment from Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen to porn star Stormy Daniels.
New York Judge Juan Merchan set a sentencing date for July 11.
Trump issued a series of posts on TruthSocial denouncing the outcome. One of them stated, “The Jury Instructions given by HIGHLY CONFLICTED Judge, Juan Merchan, were UNFAIR, MISLEADING, INACCURATE, AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL. They were also VERY CONFUSING (Just what the Judge wanted!), BECAUSE THERE WAS NO CRIME!”
“Although you must conclude unanimously that the defendant conspired to promote or prevent the election of any person to a public office by unlawful means, you need not be unanimous as to what those unlawful means were,” Merchan told the jury. The jurors were required to find that Trump falsified the 34 records with an intent to commit, aid or conceal another crime.
In an unusual twist taking advantage of an obscure New York Court of Appeals ruling, Judge Merchan chose to withhold his 55-page jury instructions. Jurors were only allowed to hear them read aloud – an exercise that took an hour and 40 minutes to complete.
The jury deliberated for two days before issuing its verdict. To find Trump guilty of a felony, jurors needed to find that he was not only guilty of the state misdemeanor of falsifying business records but also did so with the intent to commit or conceal another crime related to violating election laws, which elevated the crimes to felonies. Merchan told jurors they did not need to agree on that second crime.
“Although you must conclude unanimously that the defendant conspired to promote or prevent the election of any person to a public office by unlawful means, you need not be unanimous as to what those unlawful means were,” he told the jury.
Many criminal attorneys found a problem with the prosecution’s attempt to use a federal crime to escalate a state misdemeanor. Former federal prosecutor Katie Cherkasky told The Washington Examiner that she and many lawyers “don’t think that you can incorporate a federal offense that isn’t within the jurisdiction of the New York court as the escalating offense” and said the appeals court would likely find it reversible error.
Local and state prosecutors prosecute state laws, not federal laws. The Federal Election Commission dropped its investigation into whether Trump violated election law with the Daniels payment in May 2021, so it was unusual for state prosecutor Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to file federal charges then. Left-wing billionaire George Soros heavily funded Bragg’s campaign for DA.
The misdemeanor law prohibiting falsifying business records has a two-year statute of limitations. In order to get around the misdemeanor expiring, Bragg needed to attach it to a crime with a longer statute of limitations.
Additionally, the statute of limitations for the felony charges may have run since it is five years for those felonies. Prosecutors claimed Trump wasn’t consistently in New York after the clock started ticking, asserting that triggered an exception to the five years.
Another problem legal experts have wondered about is who was defrauded in this case.
Prosecutors said the payments were recorded to mischaracterize their nature for tax purposes but failed to charge Trump with tax violations.
Bill Otis, former head of the Appellate Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia and a former special counsel to former President George H.W. Bush, told Poynter that jurors could “easily have a reasonable doubt about whether the true motive behind the payments is … to keep your wife from finding out and protect your public image.” Paying hush money is not illegal.
Legal analyst Jonathan Turley, who has been critical of many aspects of the trial, posted on X after the verdict, “I obviously disagree with this verdict as do many others. I believe that the case will be reversed eventually either in the state or federal systems.” Turley said on Fox News, which Trump posted on TruthSocial, “The one thing we didn’t know — is really what he was found guilty of…”
Attorney and legal podcaster Robert Barnes said the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling in June on whether presidents have immunity from prosecution, which would likely reverse the conviction. He posted on X after the verdict, “‘Judge was pretty impartial’ said Stalin after the Soviet show trial.”
Prosecutors said that Trump paid Cohen back after Cohen paid Daniels but recorded it as a legal expense when it should have been a campaign expense. Trump’s attorneys said it was a business expense meant to avoid embarrassment to his family. They said Cohen went rogue when he decided to pay Daniels, and Trump has maintained that he did not have an affair with Daniels. Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress and was convinced of other crimes, including making false statements to a federally insured bank. He served three years in prison. He also admitted embezzling money from the Trump Organization while representing Trump.
Daniels’ story has changed over the years since the alleged affair took place. In 2018, she issued a statement that said, “I am not denying this affair because I was paid ‘hush money’ as has been reported in overseas owned tabloids. I am denying this affair because it never happened.”
There is speculation that the jurors may have been threatened or harassed into voting to convict. The jurors came from heavily Democratic Manhattan, which voted 86 percent for Joe Biden in 2020.
All 34 felonies are class E felonies in New York, considered the lowest level of felony punishable by a maximum of four years in prison each. Merchan could sentence Trump to serve them all concurrently. However, due to factors such as Trump’s lack of criminal history and age, it would be more common for a judge to sentence him to probation plus a fine.
Trump is facing a lengthy appeals process, which is not likely to be resolved before the election. The next court up is the Appellate Division in Manhattan, followed by the Court of Appeals in Albany.
Trump is the first president to be convicted of a felony. The Republican National Convention begins four days after Trump is scheduled to be sentenced. However, a felony conviction does not disqualify him from running for president, even if he is incarcerated.
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Rachel Alexander is a reporter at The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Rachel on Twitter / X. Email tips to [email protected].
NOT ONLY is Merchan CORRUPT, he is an “ACTING” Judge. Not Elected or appointed. He is like a Substitute Teacher in a classroom, when a teacher is absent from duty.
An acting judge is simply a lawyer, who pinch hits for sitting judges. I’d say they could NOT find a REAL JUDGE to take up such a Frankenstein case, knowing full well it could not pass constitutional muster. And what’s even more swampy, Merchan was” randomly” selected for two Trump cases, & Steve Bannons phony charge of not responding to a subpoena from the Illegitimate J6 Committee that Pelosi hobbled together. Merchan’s Conflict of Interest is Blinding. Rep Elise Stephanic has asked the Bar to investigate. But it’s NYC. RIGHT?
An amazing “coincidence” is the placement of two LEFTY attorneys on the rigged jury in Trumps “trial”.
My educated assumption is that their job is to keep any jurors who ask legitimate questions, but who have no “LAW” degree, from straying from the outcome. I’d be interested in knowing their identity, their connection to the Democrat Party & what will be their reward for being good little tyrants.
But the most aggregious Civil Right abuse was NOT MAKING it clear to the defendant former President of the United States of America Donald J Trump, what the crime is that he is being charged with. Then the GAG ORDER in your face unconstitutional. Defense was only allowed to call one witness, who Merchan scolded abusively in front of the jury for ” looking at the judge”. The witness being a former US Attorney & had first hand knowledge of Michael Cohen’s lies in this case.
I observed a similar situation years ago that took place in a Metro Criminal case that involved a Black teen, who was accused of murdering his girlfriend’s 5 year old, that he was babysitting. Evidence was weak, & more than likely the mother did the crime. She was paying the young Black man, known as “Jelly Bean” with sex. With help from people in the community, who cared, he was eventually granted a new trial. During jury selection, the prosecution literally put a sitting Judge ( Muriel Robinson) on the jury. The volunteer defense attorney did not object, which told me he was in on the RIG.
Clearly, that did not represent a jury of Jelly Bean’s peers.
The Judge is still an active Criminal Court “Judge”. He gave this young teen 40 years in adult men’s prison.
I don’t know how he sleeps at night. But I’m beginning to think to be a Democrat, you cannot have a conscience or ethics. There are only Democrat Judges in Nashville.
There needs to be Legislation passed which disallows jurors who are litigators or justices from being in a jury pool. They can have too much influence on a verdict. Also, perhaps it would not be a bad idea to have a recording of the jury deliberations (or some protective method) to make sure there is no bullying of jurors who may want to ask questions, or have a different opinion.
MY POINT IS YES, TRIALS ARE RIGGED bc our DAs & attorneys in our corrupt “Justice System” are sell outs. They are criminals themselves. Democrats will literally do ANYTHING to hold onto POWER. The media used to be the WATCH DOGS in the courtrooms. The Criminal Court Reporters have fallen to the LEFT as well, or they will be black balled by the Court House Mafia.
THE US SUPREME COURT MUST TAKE UP THIS CASE ASAP. THIS IS CLEALY A CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS.
OUR GREAT AMERICAN SOCIETY IS FAILING.
This trial was a democrat engineered effort to try keep President Trump off the ballot for 2024. It was a sham and a true violation of US law. Every law school professor on campus, regardless of their political leanings, regardless of if they liked or disliked President Trump stated the trial was a miscarriage of justice. This is election interference unlike any we have seen in US history. I am confident all of this will be dismissed on appeal. Those who perpetrated this endless persecution of President Trump should be investigated and prosecuted to the extent it will never happen again.
The stupid, foolish people who believe Trump’s guilty verdict is a cause for celebration makes me ill. “These people do not understand the Biden WH has weaponized our legal system in a desperate attempt to prevent President Trump from returning to the White House. This is not justice; this is political persecution. It’s clear election interference, plain and simple” (Harshbarger). More interference from the Biden Admin will play out in the November election; ballot fraud will take the shape of illegal voting, as millions of illegals will vote because they have a valid driver’s license. They will all vote for Biden for paying their way (and continued care) to the U.S. This is why Biden will remain the nominee; can’t confuse the illegals. Also, I believe the “panic” in the Democratic Party that Trump might win is a MSM ruse. They’ve rigged the system (again) for Biden to win, unless there is a miraculous event that exposes all the corruption…I’m praying for a miracle…
This is all I have to put forth:
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2024-05-31/banana-republic