Donald Trump became the first former president to be convicted of felony crimes Thursday as a New York jury found him guilty of falsifying business records.
Jurors deliberated for 9.5 hours over two days before convicting Trump of all 34 counts he faced. Trump sat stone-faced while the verdict was read cheering from the street below where supporters and detractors of the former president were gathered could be heard in the hallway on the courthouse’s 15th floor where the decision was revealed.
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“This was a rigged, disgraceful trial,” Trump told reporters after leaving the courtroom. “The real verdict is going to be Nov. 5 by the people. They know what happened, and everyone knows what happened here.”
Judge Juan Merchan set sentencing for July 11, just days before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where GOP leaders, who remained resolute in their support in the immediate aftermath of the verdict, are expected to formally make him their nominee.
The former president is expected to appeal the New York verdict. Neither the conviction nor any potential sentence prevents him from serving as president.
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