NEW YORK: Donald Trump became the first U.S. president to be convicted of a crime on Thursday when a New York jury found him guilty of falsifying documents to cover up a payment to silence a porn star ahead of the 2016 election.
After two days of deliberation, the 12-member jury pronounced Trump guilty on all 34 counts he faced.
Trump watched the jurors dispassionately as they were polled to confirm the unanimous verdict.
Justice Juan Merchan set sentencing for July 11, just days before the Republican Party is expected to nominate Trump for president ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
Trump faces a maximum sentence of four years in prison, though others convicted of that crime often receive shorter sentences, fines or probation. Incarceration would not prevent him from campaigning, or taking office if he were to win.
He will not be jailed ahead of sentencing.
Merchan thanked the jurors for their service and told them they were free to speak about their experience on the jury if they wished. “Nobody can make you do anything you don’t want to do. The choice is yours,” Merchan said.
The verdict plunges the United States into unexplored territory ahead of the November vote, when Trump will try to win back the White House from Democratic President Joe Biden.
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Trump, 77, has denied wrongdoing and was expected to appeal.
“This was a disgrace,” Trump told reporters afterwards as he proclaimed his innocence and repeated his complaints that the trial had been rigged against him.
“The real verdict is going to be Nov. 5 by the people,” he said.
Trump gave a thumbs-up sign through the tinted window of his SUV as his motorcade left the courthouse. Trump supporters stood in a park opposite the courthouse along with journalists, police and onlookers.
Opinion polls show Trump and Biden, 81, locked in a tight race, and Reuters/Ipsos polling has found that a guilty verdict could cost Trump some support among independent and Republican voters.
The jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business documents after sitting through a five-week courtroom presentation that featured explicit testimony from porn star Stormy Daniels about a sexual encounter she says she had with Trump in 2006 while he was married to his current wife Melania. Trump denies ever having sex with Daniels.
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