Trump Verdict: Ex-President Found GUILTY on All 34 Felony Counts in Hush Money Trial
May 30 2024, Published 5:08 p.m. ET
The verdict is in. Former president Donald Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts in his hush money trial after weeks of explosive testimony, RadarOnline.com can report. Trump's team already revealed they planned to appeal if he was convicted.
Justice Juan Merchan said on May 20 that he expected the prosecution and the defense to wrap up their presentations promptly and make their closing arguments followed by jury deliberations, marking an end to the long court saga.
As we previously reported, Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and repeatedly denied wrongdoing throughout his criminal trial, which he labeled a Democrat-led "witch hunt."
In recent weeks, prosecutors for the Manhattan District Attorney brought forward key witnesses in an effort to prove that he allegedly committed 34 felony counts of falsified business records to conceal the $130k paid by his former fixer Michael Cohen to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016.
Cohen told jurors that Trump was intimately involved in paying off Daniels to prevent her from going public with her story about her alleged sexual encounter with Trump that she claimed took place in 2006. Cohen alleged that Trump reimbursed him.
The embattled GOP frontrunner, conversely, insisted that he and Daniels never had an affair.
In a shocking turn of events before the verdict, Cohen owned up to stealing from the Trump organization after his bonus was slashed while being grilled on the stand.
The attorney-turned-witness confessed that he sought a reimbursement from the company for $50k to pay tech vendor Red Finch which attempted to skew online polls in Trump's favor in 2016.
Cohen told the court that he only gave the owner of the firm only about $20k. The total amount he stole added up to $60k because it was "grossed up" for tax.
Trump was seen "shaking his head" at the admission, according to reports.
During the criminal trial, Daniels was also put on the spot during cross-examination by Trump lawyer Susan Necheles' who asked about her line of work.
"You have a lot of experience in making phony stories about sex appear to be real," said Necheles at one point, following which Daniels fired back. "That's not how I would put it. The sex in the films is very much real, just like what happened to me in that room."
Despite attempts to halt the proceedings, Judge Merchan previously denied two of Trump's requests for a mistrial over her graphic testimony about their alleged sexual encounter.
Daniels' husband, Barrett Blade, a fellow adult performer, said there is a "good chance" that he and Daniels would leave America if Trump was acquitted in his Manhattan criminal trial before the determination.
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"Either way, I don't think it gets better for her," he said on CNN. "I think if it's not guilty, we got to decide what to do. Good chance we'll probably vacate this country."