“I’m a very innocent man”. After becoming the first President of the United States convicted of a crime, Donald Trump called the verdict a “rigged, disgraceful trial”. The former state chief has been found guilty on all counts in his criminal trial.
Trump was condemned unanimously 34 times for falsifying business records to disguise payments to an adult film star to buy her silence just before the 2016 election. He denied the charges and the affair.
The verdict came on the 30th of May, when 12 Manhattan jurors convicted him.Â
It was a six-week trial that heard 22 witnesses, including Stormy Daniels, who had the alleged sexual encounter with the former chief. The sentence is now set for the 11th of July.
According to the prosecutors, the former president broke the election law by approving a scheme to disguise the money as legal expenses. Â
What happens next?
The Republican has been free on bail during the trial and will return to court on the 11th of July. The sentence could involve a fine, probation or supervision, or possibly prison time.
Although, the possibility of Donald Trump leaving the court in handcuffs is quite unlikely. Alongside all the attempts Trump’s defense team will make to keep him far from behind bars, there are some reasons why the judge – Justice Merchant- could choose a minor punishment.Â
This reduction in the sentence includes Trump’s age, his lack of previous convictions, and the fact that the charges involve a non-violent crime. Besides that, legal experts say there are questions around the application of the federal law that could form a basis for appeal from the defense attorneys.
Consequences of the elections
This scenery is not fortunate for him, taking the point of view of the White House’s destiny. And yes, he can still run for president during the next elections which should happen in November against the democratic Joe Biden.
The selected date is four days before the start of the Republican National Convention, which should happen from 15 to 18th of July, when delegates of the United States Republican Party will select the party’s nominees for president.
Depending on the results of the sentence, it could seriously jeopardize Trump’s performance during the elections. Polls conducted during the Republican primaries this winter show that double-digit numbers of voters said that they would not vote for the former president if he were convicted of a felony.Â
Another April IPSOS and ABC News survey found that 16% of those backing Trump would reconsider their support in such a situation. The latest ABC News/IPSOS poll finds that by a 2 to 1 majority, Americans believe the guilty verdict in the falsifying business records case against Donald Trump was correct.
This survey, launched the Friday after the verdict was announced, sees a similar amount of Americans believe that Donald Trump should end his presidential campaign because of the verdict and that he intentionally did something illegal.
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The article above was edited by Beatriz Gatz.
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