Former President Donald Trump was found guilty on all 34 felony counts in his criminal hush money trial Thursday, becoming the first president in U.S. history to be tried and convicted in a criminal case.
The charges are for falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence regarding allegations that she had a sexual encounter with the married business mogul in 2006.
The payments were allegedly made through the president’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, and Trump falsely identified reimbursement payments as “legal payments.”
The former president is set to be sentenced on July 11 and could face up to four years in prison.
The historic moment played out live from Manhattan Criminal Court and the president addressed a gathered media shortly after being informed of his conviction.
Below is a transcript of his comments:
This was a disgrace. It was it was a rigged trial by a conflicted judge who was corrupt. It was a rigged trial, a disgrace.
They wouldn’t give us a venue change. We were at 5% or 6% in this district in this area. This was a rigged, disgraceful trial.
The real verdict is going to be November 5 by the people, and they know what happened here and everybody knows what happened here.
You have a Soros-backed D.A, and the whole thing, we didn’t do anything wrong, I’m a very innocent man, and it’s OK.
I’m fighting for our country. I’m fighting for our Constitution.
Our whole country is being rigged right now; this was done by the Biden administration in order to wound or hurt an opponent, a political opponent. And I think it’s a just a disgrace, and we’ll keep fighting.
We’ll fight until the end, and we’ll win because our country has gone to hell. We don’t have the same country anymore. We have a divided mess. We’re a nation in decline, serious decline, millions and millions of people pouring into our country right now, from prisons and from mental institutions, terrorists, and they’re taking over our country.
We have a country that’s in big trouble. But 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 Constitution.
This is long from over. Thank you very much.
Former President Donald Trump to the media following on May 30, 2024,