Trump Convicted on All Charges in Historic 'Hush Money' Trial
Former U.S. President Donald Trump has been found guilty on all 34 charges in a trial involving falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to an adult film star prior to his election in 2016. It's the first time in U.S. history that a former president has been convicted of a felony.
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00:00 Go to jail! Go to jail!
00:03 Crowds erupt into applause, cheers and jeers,
00:09 as the verdict in former US President Donald Trump's hush money trial
00:13 is revealed outside a Manhattan court.
00:16 Yeah, lock 'em up!
00:17 A New York jury found him guilty of all 34 counts
00:20 of falsifying business records to illegally influence the 2016 election.
00:26 Those records involve hush money payments to Stormy Daniels,
00:30 an adult film actor.
00:32 The ruling makes Donald Trump the first US president in history
00:37 to be convicted of felony crimes.
00:40 Speaking outside the courthouse, Trump maintained his innocence.
00:44 This was a disgrace.
00:47 This was a rigged trial by a conflicted judge who was corrupt.
00:52 It's a rigged trial, a disgrace.
00:56 The real verdict is going to be November 5th by the people.
01:01 And they know what happened here and everybody knows what happened here.
01:04 He is expected to appeal the verdict.
01:07 The decision came after less than 12 hours of deliberation
01:11 from the jury of 12 New Yorkers.
01:14 The charges carry up to four years behind bars,
01:17 though prosecutors have not yet said whether they intend to seek jail time.
01:22 Trump could instead face a period of house arrest, probation or community service.
01:27 [crowd cheering]
01:30 But the conviction and even a prison sentence would not bar Trump
01:33 from continuing his pursuit of the presidency
01:36 in the United States' upcoming election.
01:39 And voters on the streets of New York had mixed reactions to the trial's outcome.
01:44 I'm so pleased that there's finally some accountability for Donald Trump.
01:49 Yeah, we-- he's evaded the law for many years, decades,
01:54 and it's finally caught up to him.
01:57 And also this is a-- we're fighting for democracy here.
02:00 This was an election interference case.
02:03 I feel-- I'm not even worried about it because the truth always comes out, right?
02:06 The truth's going to come out, so I'm not even worried about it.
02:08 Even if Trump goes to jail, gets out, or gets bail or whatever,
02:10 we're all going to vote for Trump still.
02:12 The ruling also set off a political firestorm in Washington.
02:16 Republicans furiously criticised the verdict as a miscarriage of justice.
02:21 While the Biden campaign appealed to voters in a statement,
02:25 saying the only way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office
02:28 is at the ballot box.
02:30 [crowd cheering]
02:33 But despite Trump refusing to admit guilt,
02:36 his conviction could have a large impact on voters' choice
02:39 and the outcome of the election.
02:41 This has been an extens-- this is a jury of your peers.
02:44 This is kind of the essence of the American legal system.
02:49 So I think it's, without a doubt, much harder to campaign
02:56 as a former president, presidential candidate,
02:59 who has a criminal conviction.
03:01 Donald Trump will face sentencing on July 11th,
03:04 just days before the Republican Party is scheduled to formally nominate him
03:08 for president ahead of the election on November 5th.
03:13 But now American voters are left grappling with a difficult choice.
03:17 Whether they are comfortable with putting a convicted felon
03:20 who tried to corrupt a previous election at the helm once again.
03:24 Dolphine Chen and Rosie Greninja for Taiwan Plus.
03:28 [BLANK_AUDIO]