Former President Donald Trump has been found guilty on all 34 counts of the charges he faced in his recent business fraud trial. The trial, also known as Trump’s hush money trial, began in early April this year and lasted a little over a month. The trial was based on the accusations that former President Trump had paid off adult film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign to cover up her alleged claims that the two had an affair in 2006. Courtroom evidence showed that Trump had paid Daniels $130,000 through his former attorney Michael Cohen to silence Daniels’ claims.
After a month filled with trial delays, multiple witness testimonies, and gag orders due to courtroom outbursts, the business fraud trial of Donald Trump has now reached its final verdict as if yesterday. The jury under Judge Juan Merchan has found Donald Trump guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records. Many controversies have stemmed from the trial of Donald Trump, who is now the first former president to ever be convicted of a felony. Many Americans believe that the trial was held in an unfair favor of the Democratic prosecutors in order to sway Trump’s chances of winning the 2024 presidential election. Onlookers of the historic trial as well as Trump’s legal team also believe that Judge Juan Merchan had prosecutors in favor due to Merchan’s daughter being the head of a Chicago campaign fundraiser for Democratic politicians.
The closing arguments of the trial took jurors almost three full days to complete, however, the conviction of Trump would not prevent him from taking office again. After the guilty verdict was announced, Trump exited the Manhattan courthouse to a slew of reporters. When asked about his feelings about the outcome of the trial, Trump stated with disgust that the trial was disgraceful and rigged. Trump maintained his innocence to the reporters and vowed to continue fighting.
