What happened
A New York jury on Thursday evening found Donald Trump guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election by secretly paying off a porn actress to hide a politically damaging sex scandal. Trump is the first U.S. president convicted of a felony.
Who said what
Exiting the courtroom, Trump called the verdict a “disgrace” and himself a “very innocent man,” adding, “the real verdict is going to be Nov. 5, by the people.” In fundraising solicitations, Trump’s campaign called him a “political prisoner” and said “JUSTICE IS DEAD IN AMERICA!”
“The only voice that matters is the voice of the jury, and the jury has spoken,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said.
Trump’s conviction “ushers in a new era of presidential politics,” The New York Times said. He will “carry the stain of the verdict during his third run for the White House as voters now choose between an unpopular incumbent and a convicted criminal.”
What next?
Judge Juan Merchan will sentence Trump on July 11, four days before the Republican National Convention. Until then, “Trump will have the same experience as anyone else convicted of a felony” in New York, the Times said, including an interview with the city probation department before it recommends a sentence ranging from community service to 4 years in jail. Trump’s lawyers plan to appeal.