A jury in New York v. Trump found former President Trump guilty of the charges brought against him by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged former President Donald Trump with 34 counts of first-degree falsification of business records.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Each count carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison.
Judge Juan Merchant invited the jury into the courtroom, deliberated and then read out the verdict.
Prosecutors will need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump falsified the records to conceal a $130,000 payment he made to porn actor Stormy Daniels in the run-up to the 2016 election to get her to testify about an alleged 2006 affair. Trump remains silent about extramarital affair.
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Former President Donald Trump waits for proceedings to begin in Manhattan Criminal Court, New York, Monday, April 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, Pool)
During closing arguments, the former defense attorney President Trump He told the jury on Tuesday that he was innocent of any crime and that Bragg “did not meet his burden of proof. Period.”
“President Trump is innocent. He did not commit any crime. The district attorney did not bear the burden of proof. Period,” Branch said.
Branch added that the case was “very simple” and “not a guilty verdict.”
“This case is about documents; it’s a paper case,” Branch said. “This case is not about an encounter with Stormy Daniels 18 years ago, or even a confidentiality agreement signed eight years ago.”
Branch said the charges were about whether Trump had “anything to do” with payments made by his former lawyer Michael Cohen on his personal accounting books.
“The answer is? The booking was accurate, there was no fraudulent intent, and there was no conspiracy to influence the 2016 election,” Branch said. “The evidence is not established.”
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Branch told the jury they could not convict Trump based on Cohen’s testimony, recalling how Trump’s former lawyer “took the stand and testified and then lied.”
“These records are not false and there was no fraudulent intent,” he said.
Branch said that none of the invoices were sent directly to Trump and that Cohen charged Trump for “services rendered.” He also told the jury that Cohen served as Trump’s personal attorney in 2017.
Branch said Cohen lied to both houses of Congress, federal judges, state judges and his family.
“You can’t send someone to jail based on the words of Michael Cohen,” Branch said, adding that a verdict would need to be based on documents and witness evidence. “If you do that, it’s a very quick and easy not guilty verdict.”
Meanwhile, prosecutor Joshua Stanglass delivered more than five hours of closing arguments on Tuesday, saying prosecutors had presented “strong” evidence in their case against Trump.
Stanglass said Trump’s intent to defraud “couldn’t have been more obvious” and he believed it would be much easier for him to pay Stormy Daniels directly. Instead, prosecutors said, he hatched an elaborate plan and everything he and his associates did was “hidden in lies.”
“The name of the game is concealment, and all roads inevitably lead to the person who stands to benefit most: the defendant, former President Donald Trump,” Stanglas said.
Stanglass defended the prosecution’s use of Michael Cohen as a witness, telling the jury: “I’m not asking you to feel sorry for Michael Cohen. He made the bed.”
“But you can’t blame him for making money off the one thing he left behind, which is his knowledge of the inner workings of the Trump Organization,” he said.
“We did not select Michael Cohen as our witness. We did not go to the witness store to pick him up,” Stanglass said. “The defendant selected Michael Cohen as his intermediary because of his willingness to lie and deceive on the defendant’s behalf.”
In a second attempt to have the case dismissed earlier this month, Trump’s defense attorneys said prosecutors had presented no evidence linking the former president to any falsified business records. After Trump’s former lawyer and the prosecution’s “star witness” Michael Cohen completed his testimony, the defense lawyers filed a request to dismiss the testimony.
Former President Donald Trump waves as he leaves Trump Tower on his way to Manhattan Criminal Court on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, in New York City. (AP Photo/Julia Nicholson)
He testified that he personally paid Daniels $130,000 using a home equity line of credit in order to hide the payment from his wife. Cohen said he did so because Trump told him to “take care of it” and prevent negative publicity before the election.
But Trump’s defense attorneys insist the president never directed Cohn to do so.
Former U.S. President Trump listens to defense attorney Todd Branch’s closing argument (Reuters/Jane Rosenberg)
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Cohen testified that he “received $420,000 in compensation” for the $130,000 he paid Daniels. Cohen said former Trump Organization CFO Alan Weisselberg suggested he “put together” the payment and that Trump knew the details of the reimbursement.
Prosecutors presented Cohen with 11 checks totaling $420,000. Cohen confirmed they had all been received and deposited. The check had a description of “retainer,” which Cohen said was incorrect.
This is a development story. Please check back for updates.
