Former President Donald Trump is speaking to the press at Trump Tower in New York on Friday morning after he was convicted on 34 felony counts Thursday in a case stemming from a “hush money” payment to an adult film star.
A jury of 12 New Yorkers deliberated over two days to reach the verdict, finding that Trump illegally falsified business records to conceal a $130,000 payment made in the days before the 2016 election to adult film star Stormy Daniels to silence her account of a sexual encounter with him. Trump, who is the presumptive Republican nominee for president, has denied having sex with Daniels.
The historic verdict makes Trump the first former president to be convicted of a crime. His sentencing is scheduled for July 11, just four days before the Republican National Convention, where he is expected to officially become the party’s nominee.
After the verdict was announced Thursday, Trump denounced it as a “disgrace” and declared himself “a very innocent man.”
“The real verdict is going to be November 5 by the people, and they know what happened here and everybody knows what happened here,” Trump told reporters.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Trump faked the business records “to conceal a scheme to corrupt the 2016 election,” and he thanked the jury for their service.
“Many voices out there. The only voice that matters is the voice of the jury, and the jury has spoken,” Bragg said at a news conference after the verdict.