President Donald Trump has been found guilty by a jury of his peers on all 34 felony charges. In the case, the 12-member jury came to the required unanimous verdict. Trump was accused of falsifying documents in an attempt to cover up a “hush money” payment to an adult film actress.
The case spanned multiple weeks, with even the jury selection process taking an extended period of time. Furthermore, Trump often took issue with Judge Juan Merchan, who presided over the case, as well as with members of the court.
Earlier, during the case, Merchan threatened former president Trump with jail time after he found that he violated his gag order for the tenth time. “It appears that the $1,000 fines are not serving as a deterrent,” said Judge Merchan.
The judge expressed his hesitancy to jail the former president.
“The last thing I want to do is to put you in jail,” he continued. “You are the former president of the United States, and possibly the next president as well.”
“There are many reasons why incarceration is truly a last resort for you,” he continued, stating that the measure would be “disruptive to the proceedings.”
“I cannot allow that to continue,” said Merchan.
This verdict is the second case to be ruled against him this year. Earlier, Trump was ordered to pay nearly $500 billion after losing a civil fraud trial in which he was accused of inflating the worth of various properties and misleading investors.
“There is overwhelming evidence from both interested and non-interested witnesses, corroborated by documentary evidence, that the buck for being truthful in the supporting data valuations stopped with the Trump Organization, not the accountants,” stated Judge Arthur Engoron about the case.
Trump's guilty verdict makes him the first former president to be charged and convicted of a felony. The sentencing for Trump is set to take place on July 11 at 10a.
