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A jury of seven men and five women found former President Donald Trump guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
This is the first time in American history that a current or former president has been convicted of a felony.
The jury deliberated for less than 12 hours.
To reach a conviction the decision has to be unanimous.
Trump and his legal team were hoping for one or two holdouts to result in a hung or deadlocked jury. In the case of a hung jury New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg would have to decide if he wanted to retry the case. Trump’s team considered a complete acquittal not impossible but very unlikely.
The original 12 jurors made it through the trial which started April 15. There were 6 alternates.
The sentencing date has been set for July 11 which is only a few days before the Republican Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin starting July 15. It is anticipated that Todd Blanche, Trumps lead lawyer, will ask that the sentencing date be pushed until after the convention.
The impartiality of the judge and jury has been under a microscope since the New York District Attorney brought charges against Trump. The Manhattan venue will be part of Trump’s appeal that is already in the works.
While Manhattan is predominantly Democrat, some of the jurors followed Trump on his social media platform, Truth Social. One juror even said he admired Trump while another said she thought he was selfish. All jurors said they were capable of putting any bias aside and could consider the case based on the evidence.
Yesterday, Trump commented outside the courthouse that Judge Juan Merchan “was so conflicted he couldn’t breathe.”
Judge Merchan, a Republican appointee, had donated $35 to a Democrat organization a few years ago. An outside judge ruled that Merchan was not conflicted and could fairly preside over the case.
Trump has been considered a New Yorker most of his life having built and run his businesses there since the 1980’s. He now lives in Palm Beach, Florida.
After the verdict was read and the jurors excused Trump commented outside the courthouse that the his trial was “rigged” and a “disgrace.”
“November 5 will be the real verdict,” he said. “We didn’t do a thing wrong. I am an innocent man.”
Trump said this was all a ploy by the Biden Administration to derail his 2024 presidential campaign.
“We will fight for our constitution. This should have never happened,” he said.
Many family members have been present in the courthouse to support Trump during the six week trial except his daughter Ivanka and his wife, Melania.
Trump’s lawyer must file a response to the verdict by June 13 and the prosecution must reply by June 27th.