WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump on Thursday denounced his 34-count conviction in the “hush money” trial in New York, calling it a “disgrace” and vowing to “fight to the end. “
“It’s a shame. It’s a rigged trial by an adverse and corrupt judge,” Trump told reporters after leaving the Manhattan courtroom where the jury rendered its verdict.
The former president has criticized the lawsuit filed against him through Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, saying the lawsuits were politically motivated and designed to hurt his White House bid.
Trump proclaimed to reporters that he was “a very innocent man. “
“This is over,” he said, indicating that he would appeal. It will hold a press conference Friday at 11 a. m. ET at Trump Tower.
The jury of 12 New Yorkers returned its verdict after two days of deliberations, following a six-week trial, and found that he broke the law by falsifying records to conceal a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the run-up to the trial. This resolution is historic and makes Trump the first former president convicted of a crime.
He is expected to be sentenced on July 11, days before the start of the Republican National Convention, where he is expected to officially win the party’s presidential nomination.
Trump will face President Biden in the November presidential election, which will be a rematch of the 2020 contest.
“The real verdict will be given on November 5 through the people, and they know what happened here and everyone who happened here,” the former president told reporters.
Trump’s re-election campaign temporarily used the conviction at a fundraiser, claiming the former president is a “political prisoner” and calling on his supporters to help him win back the White House.
“I have been convicted in a rigged political witch hunt trial – I have done nothing wrong,” Trump wrote in a message to supporters.