Donald Trump found guilty on all counts in historic criminal trial

Donald Trump has become the first former US president to be convicted in a criminal court as a New York jury found him guilty on all counts in his historic hush money trial.

The jurors convicted Trump after deliberating for nine-and-a-half hours. As the verdict was read, he sat stone-faced in court, looking down.

The verdict is a stunning legal reckoning for Trump and exposes him to potential prison time in the city where his manipulations of the tabloid press helped catapult him from a real estate tycoon to reality television star and ultimately president.

Donald Trump in court on Thursday. (Photo by Steven Hirsch-Pool/Getty Images)

Speaking after the verdict, Trump insisted he was “very innocent” blasting: "This was a disgrace, this was a rigged trial".

Trump is expected to quickly appeal against the verdict. Judge Juan Merchan has set sentencing for July 11, just days before Republicans are set to select him as their 2024 nominee.

The falsifying business records charges carry up to four years behind bars, though prosecutors have not said whether they intend to seek imprisonment, and it is not clear whether the judge would impose that punishment even if asked.

The conviction, and even imprisonment, will not bar Trump from continuing his pursuit of the White House.

Trump faces three other felony indictments, but the New York case may be the only one to reach a conclusion before the November election, adding to the significance of the outcome.

The verdict from the 12-person jury was delivered late on Thursday in the Manhattan courtroom where prosecutors spent weeks presenting allegations that Trump participated in a hush money scheme aimed at suppressing stories he feared could be harmful to his 2016 presidential campaign.

Earlier on Thursday, the jury resumed deliberations after revisiting portions of the judge’s instructions and rehearing evidence from multiple key witnesses about the alleged scheme at the heart of the case.

The jury also reheard evidence on Thursday morning from a tabloid publisher and Trump’s former lawyer and personal fixer.

In a memo this week, Trump campaign senior advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles condemned the proceedings as a “kangaroo court” and argued the case would not matter in November.

“The bottom line is this case doesn’t have an impact on voters,” they wrote.

Trump, who on Wednesday appeared to be priming supporters for the possibility of a guilty verdict by saying that “Mother Teresa couldn’t bear these charges”, struck a pessimistic tone again on Thursday.

“It’s all rigged. The whole thing, the whole system is rigged,” he said.

It is the same language Trump used to try to inoculate himself against losses in the 2020 presidential election and Iowa’s 2016 Republican primary.

He continued to rail against the case on his social media network from a room in the courthouse, writing in capital letters: “I did nothing wrong! In fact, I did everything right!”

Trump was charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records at his company in connection with an alleged scheme to hide potentially embarrassing stories about him during his 2016 presidential election campaign.

The charge, a felony, arises from reimbursements paid to then-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen after he made a 130,000 dollar (£102,000) hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to silence her claims that she and Trump had sex in 2006.

Trump was also accused of misrepresenting Mr Cohen’s reimbursements as legal expenses to hide that they were tied to a hush money payment.

Trump had pleaded not guilty and contended the Cohen payments were for legitimate legal services.

He has also denied the alleged extramarital sexual encounter with Ms Daniels.