BIDEN CAMPAIGN: NO ONE ABOVE THE LAW
Biden's campaign said the verdict showed that no one was above the law and urged voters to reject Trump in the election.
"There is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: At the ballot box," the campaign said in a statement.
The White House declined to comment.
Trump's fellow Republicans quickly condemned the verdict.
"Today is a shameful day in American history," House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson said in a prepared statement.
The jury notified the court they had reached a verdict at 4.20pm and read out all 34 guilty counts shortly after 5pm.
Trump lawyer Todd Blanche asked Merchan to throw out the guilty verdict, arguing that it was based on the unreliable testimony of Cohen. Merchan denied his request.
Trump's near-certain appeal is likely to focus on porn star Daniels' salacious testimony about their alleged sexual encounter as well as the novel legal theory prosecutors used in the case, but he faces long odds, legal experts said.
Falsifying business documents is normally a misdemeanour in New York, but prosecutors in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office elevated it to a felony on grounds that Trump was concealing an illegal campaign contribution.
Trump had complained that he could not get a fair trial in his heavily Democratic hometown.
The case was widely regarded as the least consequential of the four criminal prosecutions Trump faces. Jurors heard testimony of sex and lies that have been public since 2018, although the charges themselves rested on ledger accounts and other records of Cohen's reimbursement.
It was known as the "zombie case" because Bragg brought it back to life after his predecessor opted not to bring charges.
This case was also likely to be the only one to go to trial before the election, as the others are delayed by procedural challenges.
If elected, Trump could shut down the two federal cases that accuse him of illegally trying to overturn his 2020 election loss and mishandling classified documents after leaving office in 2021. He would not have the power to stop a separate election-subversion case taking place in Georgia.
Trump has pleaded not guilty in all the cases and has portrayed his various legal troubles as an effort by Biden's Democratic allies to hurt him politically.
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2024-05-30 21:37:00Z
CBMiY2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vd29ybGQvZG9uYWxkLXRydW1wLWZvdW5kLWd1aWx0eS1hbGwtY291bnRzLWh1c2gtbW9uZXktdHJpYWwtNDM3NTYwMdIBAA
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