By Former President Donald Trump called his criminal hush money trial a “disgrace” on Thursday after a New York jury found him guilty on all 34 criminal counts of falsifying business records.
“This was a rigged, disgraceful trial,” Trump told reporters outside the courtroom in Manhattan Supreme Court.
“I’m a very innocent man,” Trump said.
“And it’s OK, I’m fighting for our country, I’m fighting for our Constitution. Our whole country is being rigged right now.”
With the jury’s unanimous verdict, Trump became the first former U.S. president ever to be convicted of a crime.
“The real verdict is going to be November 5, by the people,” Trump said, referring to the day of the presidential election. “They know what happened here, and everybody knows what happened here.”
Trump is expected to appeal his historic verdict after he is sentenced on July 11, but legal experts say there is no chance he will overturn his conviction prior to Election Day.
In an all-caps post on Truth Social later Thursday afternoon, Trump wrote, “This is long from over!”
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the case, thanked his prosecution team and the jury at a press conference Thursday evening.
“This type of white-collar prosecution is core to do what we do,” Bragg said.
“I did my job. Our job is to follow the facts and the law without fear or favor, and that’s exactly what we did here,” he said.
“The only voice that matters is the voice of the jury, and the jury has spoken.”
News of the guilty verdict in the first of four criminal cases against Trump to go to trial spurred a seismic reaction from the presumptive Republican presidential nominee’s allies and foes alike.
“May 30th, 2024 might be remembered as the day Donald J. Trump won the 2024 Presidential Election,” Eric Trump, one of the former president’s two adult sons, wrote on social media site X.
Meanwhile, Trump’s former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, a star witness in the trial, said in a statement, “Today is an important day for accountability and the rule of law.”
“While it has been a difficult journey for me and my family, the truth always matters,” Cohen said.
