Donald Trump Asks for Donations After Being Found Guilty on All Counts in Criminal Trial, Lashes Out
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Calling the verdict "disgraceful," the former president-turned-convicted felon also appealed for campaign donations
Shannon Stapleton-Pool/Getty Donald Trump
Donald Trump is using his guilty verdict as a fundraising opportunity — and lashing out at the justice system.On May 30 in Manhattan, a jury delivered a guilty verdict in his six-week criminal trial. The former president, 77, was found guilty of all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.Immediately after the guilty verdict was read, Trump — the presumptive Republican nominee for president in the November 2024 election — released a fundraising call on Truth Social, calling himself a "political prisoner" and blasting the court as "corrupt."A defeated-looking Trump also spoke briefly outside of the courthouse as he departed, once again blaming the Biden administration for charges brought by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. (A claim that has no evidence.) “This was a rigged, disgraceful trial. The real verdict is going to be Nov. 5 by the people,” he said. “We’ll fight to the end and we’ll win.” When a reporter asked Trump why Americans should vote for a convicted felon, he did not respond, according to The New York Times.
Related: Publisher David Pecker Testifies About Trump Team's Alleged Role in Burying Stories During 2016 Election
The jury that determined Trump's fate comprised seven men and five women representing a variety of backgrounds and ideologies. The group deliberated for two days before reaching their decision.Trump now faces up to four years in prison. As a first-time offender of a non-violent offense, he is likely to get off easy with probation and a fine, but sentencing is ultimately at the discretion of Judge Juan Merchan, with whom Trump has repeatedly sparred.
AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah Donald Trump arriving at the courthouse for his criminal trial on April 15, 2024.' title='Former President Donald Trump arrives at Manhattan criminal court with his legal team, Monday, April 15, 2024, in New York. The hush money trial of former President Donald Trump begins Monday with jury selection. It's a singular moment for American history as the first criminal trial of a former U.S. commander in chief. '>
AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah Donald Trump arriving at the courthouse for his criminal trial on April 15, 2024.
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office brought an unprecedented case against Trump that aimed to prove he not only falsified financial records "with intent to defraud" — in this instance, to mask a $130,000 hush money payment made to Stormy Daniels in the final days of his 2016 presidential election — but that he did so in order to conceal a second crime, which elevates the charges from misdemeanors to felonies.Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer.In falsifying the records, the DA's office argued, Trump was more broadly attempting to bury evidence of an illegal conspiracy to influence the 2016 election. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People.
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