US ex-president Trump found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records

New York jurors found former US President Donald Trump guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in a hush money scheme, Report informs referring to TASS.

Trump became the first former US president to be convicted of a felony by a jury.

The jurors began their deliberations on May 29. In total, the panel comprising seven men and five women deliberated for around 11 hours to reach a unanimous decision on each of the counts.

Judge Juan Merchan set the sentencing for 10:00 a.m. local time on July 11 (2:00 p.m. GMT). Therefore, it will take place The date four days before the Republican National Convention, scheduled to take place on July 15-18 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where Trump is to be officially approved as the Republican presidential candidate.

Trump said the incumbent administration of President Joe Biden had somehow influenced his trial.

This was done by the Biden administration in order to wound or hurt an opponent, a political opponent. And I think it is just a disgrace, and we will keep fighting, we will fight till the end and we will win, because our country has gone to hell," Trump told reporters after the verdict was pronounced.

"This was a rigged decision right from day one, with a conflicted judge who should have never been allowed to try this case, never. And we will fight for our country, for our constitution," he added.

The investigation against Trump was prompted by The Wall Street Journal publication in January 2018 that a month before the 2016 presidential election, his lawyer Michael Cohen had paid porn star Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, a sum of $130,000 for her silence about her alleged sexual encounter with Trump some ten years ago.

In 2018, Cohen stood trial on several counts, including violating campaign financing laws by paying Daniels. Back then, no charges were brought against Trump, who enjoyed immunity as the head of state. But in November 2022, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office launched a new probe. Investigators believe that Trump reimbursed his lawyer for the money he had spent via Trump Organization as payment for court fees. On April 4, 2023, a court in New York brought criminal charges against Trump in the case of payments to Daniels.