Following the historic verdict against former president Donald Trump in his hush-money scandal, many people across the world have been left with more questions than answers.
What was Donald Trump found guilty of?
On Thursday (May 30), following a six-week trial, a 12-person jury in New York found 77-year-old Donald Trump guilty on all 34 felony counts against him in the hush money scandal.
The ruling meant that – not only was Trump the very first president in US history to be criminally tried – but he is also the first former president to ever be convicted of felony crimes.
Trump faced charges of business fraud linked to hush-money payments made to former adult star Stormy Daniels.
The payments – totaling $130,000 (£104,500) – were allegedly orchestrated by Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to secure Daniels’ silence about her alleged sexual encounter with Trump prior to the 2016 election, per BBC News.
While paying hush money itself is not illegal, the manner in which it was accounted for has been deemed as election fraud.
A full breakdown of the 34 charges against Trump can be found in official filings here. Additionally, the Statement of Facts, a document that accompanied the indictment, can be found here.
Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to all 34 counts and has repeatedly denied any sexual encounters with Daniels.
What happens now that Trump has been found guilty?
After being found guilty by the jury, Judge Juan Merchan set Trump’s sentencing date to July 11 at 10:00AM Eastern.
The former POTUS’ attorney – Todd Blanche – requested mid-July from the judge so that his legal team have time to focus on the upcoming pre-trial hearings in Trump’s other criminal case related to classified documents found in his Florida home
Trump is also facing two other criminal cases against him. As well as the documents case, Trump has been accused of plotting to subvert the transfer of power after the 2020 presidential election. He was charged with four counts in August 2023 and pleaded not guilty, per CBS News.
Additionally, in August 2023, a Fulton County grand jury indicted Trump and 18 allies as part of a racketeering case stemming from an alleged plot to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia. The former POTUS has been charged with 10 state felony counts (after three were thrown out), and has pleaded not guilty to all of them.
Following Thursday’s verdict, Trump was dismissed on his own recognisance. He has been free on bail during the whole proceeding.
With Trump slamming the verdict as a “disgrace”, reports state that it is likely his legal team will appeal the guilty ruling – which could stretch out the sentencing process for months.
Trump’s lawyers would face the Appellate Division in Manhattan and possibly the Court of Appeals, meaning it is unlikely that on July 11 he will remain free on bail while the appeal process goes ahead.
Could Donald Trump go to prison?
Put simply, yes, Donald Trump could go to prison after being found guilty.
Although the 34 charges he faced are all E felonies in the state of New York (the lowest tier), they still carry a maximum penalty of a $5,000 fine to four years in prison. This means that, technically, Trump could face 136 years in prison.
But this is incredibly unlikely — in fact, it’s unlikely he’ll receive any jail time at all, according to reports.
Per Forbes, Judge Merchan will take many things into consideration when sentencing Trump – such as his age, the fact that the crimes are non-violent, and the fact he is a first-time offender.
Additionally, given the incredibly high-profile nature of the case — with Trump being a former president and candidate in the 2024 presidential election — the judge may see fit not to put Trump behind bars.
Can Donald Trump still run for president now he’s a convicted felon?
Yes he can.
Although there are many people throughout the United States who see Trump’s guilty verdict as reasoning that he should never sit in the Oval Office ever again, that just isn’t the case.
Per The Independent, there are no explicit restrictions in the US Constitution that prevents an individual for running for president if they have been convicted of a crime.
And there’s no explicit restriction in the US Constitution that prevents a convicted felon from winning the presidential election.
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In fact, in theory, Trump could still run for president and win the election from a prison cell. Incredibly unlikely, but there’s nothing legally preventing that from happening.
That being said, Trump has faced backlash ever since announcing his plan to once again run for president – with the Colorado Supreme Court and Maine’s secretary of state using a clause contained within the 14th Amendment to attempt to remove Trump from the ballot due to his actions on Jan 6.
Nevertheless, Trump successfully appealed both of these attempts after the Supreme Court ruled that only Congress could disqualify a candidate for presidency.