Donald Trump found guilty on all 34 felony counts in hush money trial: Highlights

Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic nominee who lost to Trump, indirectly referred to the verdict tonight when she presented an award at a festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington.

“Anything going on today?” she said with a slight smile to the audience, which applauded. “Well, I have to tell you, there’s nowhere I’d rather be than right here.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., reacted to the jury’s verdict in a brief post to X.

“No one is above the law,” he said. “The verdict speaks for itself.”

In a CNN interview, Trump attorney Todd Blanche said the jury looked past what his team thought were “fatal flaws” with Cohen’s testimony.

Blanche also said he does not accept that the trial venue was a fair place to try Trump. He also said the timing of the trial was unfair.

“As soon as we can appeal, we will,” he said.

He expressed similar sentiments during a Fox News interview, saying he did not believe Trump received a fair trial.

“We’ve been saying for over a year that we couldn’t get a fair trial in Manhattan, we couldn’t get a fair trial with the judge, and it played out exactly as we expected,” Blanche said on Fox.

Trump arrived at Trump Tower at about 9:25 p.m. He waved to a crowd and then walked into the building.

Trump attended a fundraiser earlier tonight, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Ivanka Trump, the former president’s daughter, shared what appeared to be an old photograph that featured her as a young child posing with her father, whose arms are wrapped around her.

“I love you dad,” she wrote in bold white text across the image on Instagram.

Some of Trump’s other children commented earlier on today’s verdict.

While Ivanka Trump was a White House adviser during her father’s administration, she has adopted a lower profile since he left the White House, skipping his 2024 campaign launch and saying she was stepping away from politics.

In a wide-ranging interview after the verdict, key prosecution witness Michael Cohen recalled doing damage control when the Stormy Daniels story broke.

He told MSNBC that the trial ultimately demonstrated that other witnesses and evidence corroborated what he had said for years. He said this case was important and relevant, adding that “Donald needed to be held accountable” just as he himself was held accountable.

Cohen said that during prep sessions, he was coached not to “quibble” over questions but to “own it” if he did something.

Asked about testimony in which he described talking with Trump during a short phone call, Cohen said he never changed his testimony. Asked about Daniels, Cohen said that she was “unflappable” and that she was “much smarter than they are,” referring to the defense team.

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who chairs the Judiciary Committee, said in a statement tonight that Trump’s guilty verdict underscored that he is “unfit for public service.”

“As I’ve said all along: no one is above the law—not even a former president. Consistent with the rule of law, a jury of his peers found the former president guilty on all counts,” Durbin said.

“Today’s verdict is another reminder that Donald Trump is unfit for public service. Now, it is up to the American people to decide if he is worthy of the seat behind the Resolute desk in the Oval Office,” he continued.

Twelve jurors took more than nine hours to convict Trump on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

A handful of Trump’s prospective running mates took less than nine minutes to condemn the verdict.

The string of “guilty” readings began at 5:06 p.m. today in Judge Juan Merchan’s New York courtroom. By 5:12, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem was rushing to Trump’s defense online.

Read the full story here.

A 25-year-old Gwinnett County resident who said he backed Biden in 2020 but has no plans to support Biden or Trump in November, said today’s verdict didn’t affect his opinion that Trump will win in November.

“I don’t see him losing regardless of the verdict,” said Noah F., who declined to provide his last name. “I think he will win.”

But he also questioned why Trump is allowed to run after having been convicted.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., weighed in on today’s verdict hours after many of his Republican colleagues had already commented, posting on X that he expected the conviction to be overturned.

“These charges never should have been brought in the first place. I expect the conviction to be overturned on appeal,” McConnell said.

Trump is guilty but not ashamed. The question now is whether he will suffer politically for his crimes.

The first former American president convicted at trial — found guilty today on all 34 counts of scheming to help his 2016 campaign by covering up an alleged sexual encounter — Trump rallied quickly to raise money and votes from the verdict.

He blasted out a fundraising message to donors just minutes after the jury finished its work, and he vowed in the courthouse that “the real verdict is going to be Nov. 5 by the people” when he faces President Joe Biden in a rematch of their 2020 election.

Read the full story here.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said on X, “This moment is a somber one for America.”

“Trial by a jury of peers is a fundamental principle of democracy, which must be respected,” she continued.

The progressive organization MoveOn has sold more than 25,000 stickers labeling Trump as a “felon” in the hours after the verdict was announced.

The sticker features an image of Trump with the word “felon” emblazoned across his eyes. “No one is above the law” is written over his mouth.

More than 10,000 stickers were ordered in under 10 minutes, spokesperson Britt Jacovich said. She said the stickers were sold individually, not in bulk.

Under New York state law, Trump will not be considered a felon until his sentencing, scheduled for July 11.

A Pennsylvanian who voted for Biden in 2020 told NBC News she was very excited by the jury’s decision to find Trump guilty on all 34 counts. 

“I was just very excited to see that people are still willing to, you know, vote for democracy and be willing to confront somebody so large and in charge, quote unquote,” said Alli Gottschling, of Erie County. 

Gottschling said she believes the jury’s decision will affect how some vote in November. 

“There are still people so stuck in their belief in him that anything that happens with him, it’ll just be swept under the rug and he’ll continue to power through, sadly,” Gottschling said.

Two undecided Arizona voters criticized Trump in reacting to the verdict.

Jamyiah Reed, 21, pushed back against Trump’s frequent claims that the trial was a “witch hunt.”

“A witch hunt? He’s the sorcerer,” Reed said, adding that Trump is “the witch.”

Asked for reaction to the verdict, Reed said Trump “is a clown,” asking, “What do you expect from a clown?”

Saqueya Hendricks, 21, said that the trial seemed “fair” and that the verdict is “not that shocking.”

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took aim at Democrats following the verdict, blaming them for Trump’s courtroom woes in a statement on X.

“The Democratic Party’s strategy is to beat President Trump in the courtroom rather than the ballot box. This will backfire in November. Even worse, it is profoundly undemocratic,” Kennedy wrote. “America deserves a President who can win at the ballot box without compromising our government’s separation of powers or weaponizing the courts.”

Kennedy, who was competing in the Democratic primaries against President Joe Biden before he launched his independent bid, also contrasted his presidential campaign with the actions he attributed to Democrats, saying he preferred to challenge Trump “on his record,” including Covid-related lockdowns, the economy, the environment and foreign policy.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg did not address a hypothetical about possible jail time after Trump was convicted.

“I’m going to let our words in court speak for themselves when we get to the sentencing matter. I’m not going to address hypotheticals,” Bragg said at a news conference.

Bragg had been asked whether he would object to a stay if Trump sought one following a potential prison sentence.

Former Rep. Justin Amash, a former Republican who became an independent during Trump’s term in office, criticized the verdict in a post to X, calling it “an affront to the Rule of Law.” Amash is running for the Senate in the GOP primary in Michigan.

“This selective and abusive prosecution will further undermine confidence in our Constitution and divide America,” he said. “It must not stand.”

Amash has criticized Trump, and he voted to impeach him in 2019.

Reporting from Phoenix, Arizona

Robbie Mayer of Phoenix said that he thinks Trump probably did what he was found guilty of but that the criminal case was “politically motivated.”

“I think he’s probably guilty of having done that, but I don’t think it was something that is a necessarily indictable offense,” said Mayer, who said he was a retired prosecutor and police officer.

“I think they’re stretching the law,” and “this is a federal law that he’s been convicted on by a state prosecutor,” he added.

Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement that the verdict “reaffirms that no one is above the law.”

“In preparation for a verdict in this trial, I directed my Administration to closely coordinate with local and federal law enforcement and we continue to monitor the situation,” she said in the statement. “We are committed to protecting the safety of all New Yorkers and the integrity of our judicial system.”

Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., who is vying to succeed Mitch McConnell as Senate Republican leader, echoed Republican colleagues’ claims that the hush money case was driven by politics.

“This case was politically motivated from the beginning, and today’s verdict does nothing to absolve the partisan nature of this prosecution,” Thune said on X. “Regardless of outcome, more and more Americans are realizing that we cannot survive four more years of Joe Biden.”

Departing his apartment complex, Michael Cohen did not respond to NBC News’ question about whether he had a reaction to the verdict.

Cohen was a key witness for prosecution.

Bragg said the “only voice that matters” is the “voice of the jury.”

He continued to reiterate “enormous gratitude” for the justice system and the jury.

Bragg said that “I did my job” and that there is now a federal court ruling on the legal theories of the case but that “most importantly” the jurors have spoken.

His remarks have concluded.

Trump returned to his Manhattan high-rise with New York police shutting down traffic outside Trump Tower.

East 56th Street, between Madison and Fifth avenues, was closed after Trump returned to his occasional home.

About 75 people crowding the western corners of 56th Street and Fifth Avenue showered him with a mix of cheers and boos.

Trump walked to the northeast corner of 56th and Fifth, giving multiple waves and thumbs-ups behind metal barricades and in front of a Gucci advertisement. As he entered Trump Tower, his supporters and critics continued to yell at one another.

Trump, who shortly after today’s verdict said his legal battle was “far from over,” announced plans to hold a news conference tomorrow in a post on Truth Social.

The news conference will be at 11 a.m. in the atrium of Trump Tower, the post said.

“If I’d done it, I would be in jail,” was DeMon DeLoatch’s reaction to the historic guilty verdict.

“So if he’s done the crime, do the time,” DeLoatch, 44, a Democrat, said when he was asked his reaction about the verdict in Atlanta, where he lives.

David Ederer, an engineer who moved to Atlanta from Buffalo, New York, about nine months ago, also said the guilty verdict was justified.

“I think it just goes to show that our systems of law and government have proven that they apply to everyone and not just people that can’t afford a lawyer,” said Ederer, 63, who said he is not involved in politics.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the charges against Trump, addressed reporters, thanked the jury for its service and said it performed a “fundamental” civic duty.

Twelve New Yorkers heard witness testimony and reviewed evidence, he said, adding that white-collar prosecution is core to work at the DA’s office.

He thanked the prosecutors, saying they are “embodying the finest traditions of this office.” He said that they are “model public servants” and that he is proud to serve alongside them. Bragg also expressed “deep gratitude” to the New York Police Department and court administrators for securing their safety.

He said they arrived at the trial “in the same manner as every other case” that comes to the courtroom.

Bars in Washington, D.C., have started debuting specials related to today’s verdict.

The Midlands, a beer garden, said it would offer discounts on some of its beers.

“Trump has been found guilty! We will be celebrating with 34 ounces of Justice,” it wrote on Instagram.

David Sacks, the venture capitalist who will help host a fundraiser for Trump in San Francisco on June 6, suggested the case was brought forward to harm Trump’s chances in November.

“A sham trial designed for one purpose: to brand Donald Trump as a ‘felon.’ Watch Dems and the MSM endlessly repeat that word,” he wrote on X, adding in an additional post, “There is now only one issue in this election: whether the American people will stand for the USA becoming a Banana Republic.”

“After Biden’s disastrous presidency, Trump has a lot of supporters in Silicon Valley; many are just afraid to admit it. But with each act of courage, like this one, the dam begins to break,” he added, quote tweeting Sequoia Capital partner Shaun Maguire’s post saying he had donated $300,000 to Trump.

Sacks backed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential bid earlier this cycle and participated in his campaign launch on X.

Writer E. Jean Carroll, who accused Trump of sexual assault and won almost $90 million in civil judgments against him, had a short response on social media to the historic guilty verdict.

“Justice!!” she posted on X, along with a photo of Stormy Daniels.

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., widely viewed as a leading contender to be Trump’s running mate, called the verdict a “hoax,” a “sham” and an “absolute injustice,” adding that Merchan and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg “should be ashamed of themselves.”

“This isn’t just ridiculous. This actually erodes the confidence that Americans have in the justice system,” Scott said in a video posted to X.

Scott teased that “good news is coming,” saying, “Joe Biden, you’re fired. We the people stand with Donald Trump.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has not yet commented on today’s verdict.

McConnell and Trump have long had a contentious relationship, though McConnell did endorse Trump in March.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., called today’s verdict “a defeat for Americans who believe in the critical legal tenet that justice is blind” and heaped criticism on President Joe Biden, who he said “teamed up” with District Attorney Alvin Bragg to harm a political opponent.

“This is nothing more than an attempt to interfere with the 2024 election,” Scalise said in a statement, adding voters would ultimately “settle this” on Election Day.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., offered a similar assessment, writing on X alongside a link to a Trump fundraising page that Americans would “release their own verdict this November” and imploring them to “unite behind” Trump.

Republican National Committee political director James Blair had a call with all 50 GOP state chairs today after the verdict, according to two sources who were on the call.

The sources said Blair basically gave them their marching orders as far as post-verdict talking points and messaging: This is unjust, this will be good for us, we will win.

“James Blair just did a call with every state chairman,” one of the sources said. “There is a clear message [the RNC] wants us to convey: It is an unjust witch hunt. We will appeal, and we will win the appeal. Guys, we just elected the next president of the United States.”

The former president’s niece Mary Trump claimed the Manhattan guilty verdicts stunned her uncle and could be a “death knell” for his political career.

“He never saw this coming. He never in a billion years thought this would happen,” Mary Trump said on her podcast on YouTube. “I think this is a death knell. I’m not guaranteeing it, of course, but I think that’s a reasonable hope at this point.”

Trump’s niece, a longtime critic of her uncle, also said the MAGA movement suffered a significant blow.

“Once Donald is displaced, MAGA’s over,” she said. “I used to think that Trumpism would survive without Trump. I’m not so sure anymore. One, there’s nobody to replace him and two, he’s just causing way too much damage to his image.”

The drawing on the cover of next week’s issue of The New Yorker, titled “A Man of Conviction” and created by the artist John Cuneo, shows the former president being handcuffed while wearing his trademark red tie.

While Republican officeholders are rushing to defend Trump after his conviction, his primary rivals in 2023 and early 2024 warned about the possibility this would happen in the middle of the general election.

“If Donald Trump is the nominee, the election will revolve around all these legal issues, his trials, perhaps convictions if he goes to trials and loses there and about things like Jan. 6,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a Jan. 16 CNN town hall. “We’re going to lose if voters are making a decision based on that. We don’t want it to be a referendum on those issues.”

DeSantis defended Trump on X after the verdict and attacked the prosecution and the court as “captive” to a “political agenda.”

In February, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley told NBC News there “is no way that the American people are going to vote for a convicted criminal.”

Trump’s motorcade was seen stuck in traffic on the FDR Drive after it left court in Manhattan following the historic guilty verdicts.

Helicopter video from NBC New York showed the vehicles stuck in traffic, which will not be a surprise to drivers in the Big Apple.

The motorcade later arrived at Trump Tower.

Trump is back at his namesake skyscraper in midtown Manhattan. He just waved to the crowd and raised his fist in the air.

The crowd appeared to be made up of a mix of supporters and detractors, including some people who were shouting “guilty!” and booing him.

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, who is running to succeed Sen. Mitch McConnell as the Senate Republican leader, condemned today’s verdict in a statement on X.

“This verdict is a disgrace, and this trial should have never happened,” Cornyn said before he called on Republicans to “rally around” Trump to reclaim the White House and the Senate.

“The real verdict will be Election Day,” he added.

Chris LaCivita, a top official on Trump’s campaign, said former GOP Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s campaign for the Senate is “ended” after Hogan called for Americans “to respect the verdict and the legal process.”

“You just ended your campaign,” LaCivita said on X.

Hogan, the Republican candidate for the Senate in Maryland, was seen as a strong recruit for the seat, having previously held statewide office. But he has feuded with Trump in recent years and has not associated with his MAGA movement.

After Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts in New York, Hogan said on X: “Regardless of the result, I urge all Americans to respect the verdict and the legal process. At this dangerously divided moment in our history, all leaders—regardless of party—must not pour fuel on the fire with more toxic partisanship. We must reaffirm what has made this nation great: the rule of law.”

Eric Trump, the former president’s second-eldest son, posted this on X just before 6 p.m.: “May 30th, 2024 might be remembered as the day Donald J. Trump won the 2024 Presidential Election.”

Singer Katy Perry weighed in on X after the verdict, posting “LFG,” an abbreviation for “let’s f—ing go.”

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who ran for the Republican presidential nomination this cycle, said in a post on X said the jury’s verdict should be respected.

“It is not easy to see a former President and the presumptive GOP nominee convicted of felony crimes; but the jury verdict should be respected. An appeal is in order but let’s not diminish the significance of this verdict,” he wrote.

The crowd of pro-Trump demonstrators across the street from the courthouse appeared relatively muted as news of the guilty verdict spread. The scene was in contrast with the atmosphere just a few days ago, when a visit from anti-Trump actor Robert De Niro helped fuel angry confrontations between demonstrators on both sides of the political divide.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a potential vice presidential running mate pick for Trump, called today’s verdict “a complete travesty that makes a mockery of our system of justice” in a statement on X.

Rubio also took aim at Judge Juan Merchan, calling him “an openly pro-Biden judge,” and he disputed the jury instruction, which he said “guaranteed guilty verdicts.”

Much of Rubio’s sentiment was echoed by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who called the verdict “a mockery of justice” and said he expected it to be reversed on appeal.

“This verdict says more about the system than the allegations. It will be seen as politically motivated and unfair, and it will backfire tremendously on the political Left,” Graham said. “I fear we have opened up Pandora’s box on the presidency itself.”

Barbara Bennett, a retired nurse assistant from Phoenix who said she voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020 and plans to vote for him again in November, said that after today’s verdict, “I don’t see him as that much of a criminal.”

“What he did was, it might have been a crime, but I don’t think it was that much of a crime,” said Bennett, 83.

Trump’s online fundraising page appears to have crashed and is displaying an error message.

Online fundraising for Trump has spiked around his major days in his legal cases, so today’s verdict could be a financial boon for his campaign.

Trump’s website has been updated to reflect the guilty verdict, reiterating his claims that he is a “political prisoner” and featuring the mug shot taken when he turned himself in to Georgia authorities in a separate case.

“Never surrender” is written in bold under the photo.

The site also features the same fundraising message that was promoted on social media after the verdict.

“My end-of-month fundraising deadline is just DAYS AWAY!” the website also says.

The guilty verdict is a resounding victory for prosecutors in a case they pitched as something far greater than about hush money.

They tried to cast the case as being about the subversion of democracy, and today, the jury agreed with them.

Trump’s motorcade is leaving the courthouse roughly an hour after the verdict was delivered.

A slew of Democratic lawmakers are weighing in with reaction to the verdict.

Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., said on X that “the jury has spoken,” adding, “Justice has prevailed.” Clyburn is often credited with delivering Biden’s 2020 campaign a vital boost during the primary season.

Progressive Reps. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., and Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., both said on X that “no one” is “above the law.”

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., also touted the decision on X.

“Despite his efforts to distract, delay, and deny — justice arrived for Donald Trump all the same,” he said. “And the rule of law prevailed.”

Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., wrote on X, “Justice has prevailed!”

President Joe Biden’s campaign declared “no one is above the law” in a statement released just minutes after former President Donald Trump was convicted in a New York courtroom.

“Donald Trump has always mistakenly believed he would never face consequences for breaking the law for his own personal gain,” Biden campaign spokesman Michael Tyler said in a statement. “But today’s verdict does not change the fact that the American people face a simple reality.” 

At the same time as it reacted to the verdict in New York, the Biden campaign underscored messaging it teased last week: that voters should wake up to the possibilities of another Trump term. That means, the campaign says, getting supporters involved in Democratic campaigns and fundraisers to stop Trump in November — and getting them to stop expecting that Trump will somehow go away because of the myriad trials he faces.

Read the full story here

Jurors are deliberating for the second day in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged Trump in April 2023 with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. According to the indictment, 11 checks were issued from the Trump Revocable Trust and his personal bank account “for a phony purpose.”

Read the full story here.

Donald Trump Jr., the former president’s eldest son, issued a series of posts on X, calling the jury’s verdict “such bulls—” and election interference.

“Guilty on all counts. The Democrats have succeeded in their years long attempt to turn America into a third-world s—hole. November 5 is our last chance to save it,” he wrote.

“Sentencing is 4 days before the GOP Convention…They’re not even trying to hide the ELECTION INTERFERENCE!!!!”

Inside the pro-Trump area of the park, Trump supporters loudly argued earlier this afternoon with at least two people holding anti-Trump signs (“Trump Is a Danger to Us All”). Police officers were in the crowd.

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Elise Wrabetz

Chelsea StahlChelsea Stahl is the art director for NBC News Digital

For nearly every day of Donald Trump’s Manhattan hush money trial, photographers have captured a grimacing Trump seated at the defense table, a former U.S. president for the first time facing criminal charges in an American courtroom. 

The judge, jurors and witnesses are not allowed to be photographed, but for most of the proceedings, pool photographers have been brought into the courtroom to photograph Trump as the day in court gets underway. They have captured his handwritten notes, such as when Trump, as closing arguments got underway, scrawled in black marker on a yellow sticky note affixed to a list of quotes about the trial, “This case should be dismissed by the judge.”

From the trial’s start through Wednesday, Getty Images tagged nearly 13,000 images with “Donald Trump New York.” Here are 62 of the most representative photos.

A New York jury’s historic conviction of Donald Trump on felony charges means his fate is now in the hands of the judge he’s repeatedly ripped as “corrupt” and “incompetent.”

Two experts told NBC News that it’s unlikely Trump will be imprisoned based on his age, lack of a criminal record and other factors — and an analysis of thousands of cases found that very few people charged with the same crime receive jail time. But a third expert told NBC News he believes it is “substantially” likely Trump could end up behind bars.

Trump was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records, a class E felony that is punishable by a fine, probation or up to four years in prison. During the trial, Judge Juan Merchan threatened to put Trump behind bars for violating his gag order, but it’s unclear if the former president will face similar consequences now.

Read the full story here.

New York Attorney General Letitia James reacted to the verdict on X with a single sentence: “No one is above the law.”

James led the prosecution in Trump’s New York civil fraud case earlier this year which resulted in him being found liable for hundreds of millions of dollars.

Michael Cohen, Trump’s ex-personal attorney and a key witness in the trial, will appear on MSNBC at 8 p.m. tonight.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg issued a brief statement after the verdict was read.

“Today, a jury found Donald J. Trump GUILTY on ALL 34 felony counts,” Bragg said.

In a statement, the Biden campaign’s communications director, Michael Tyler, said the verdict illustrated that “no one is above the law” and urged opponents of the former president to vote in November’s election.

“Donald Trump has always mistakenly believed he would never face consequences for breaking the law for his own personal gain. But today’s verdict does not change the fact that the American people face a simple reality,” Tyler said. “There is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: at the ballot box. Convicted felon or not, Trump will be the Republican nominee for president.”

“The threat Trump poses to our democracy has never been greater. He is running an increasingly unhinged campaign of revenge and retribution, pledging to be a dictator ‘on day one’ and calling for our Constitution to be ‘terminated’ so he can regain and keep power,” Tyler added. “A second Trump term means chaos, ripping away Americans’ freedoms and fomenting political violence — and the American people will reject it this November.”

Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker posted a fiery statement to X slamming Trump after the verdict was read.

“Donald Trump is a racist, a homophobe, a grifter, and a threat to this country,” the Illinois governor said. “He can now add one more title to his list — a felon.”

Under New York state law, Trump will not be classified as a felon until his sentencing, which is scheduled for July 11.

Michael Cohen, the prosecution’s star witness who provided critical testimony during the trial, reacted to the news of the verdict in a post on X.

“Guilty On All Counts! #Team Cohen,” he wrote, along with a zoomed-in screenshot that showed the news on TV.

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who is considered a potential vice-presidential pick for Trump, blasted the jury’s verdict in a statement this evening.

“Today’s verdict shows how corrupt, rigged, and unAmerican the weaponized justice system has become under Joe Biden and Democrats,” Stefanik wrote. “I fully support President Trump appealing this decision and look forward to a higher New York Court to deliver justice and overturn this verdict.”

Stefanik also took aim at the district attorney’s office, saying the hush-money trial stemmed from a “zombie case illegally brought forward by a corrupt prosecutor doing Joe Biden’s political bidding,” and criticized Judge Merchan whom she called “corrupt and highly unethical.”

“From the start, the weaponized scales of justice were stacked against President Trump. Joe Biden, Far Left Democrats, and their stenographers in the mainstream media have made it clear they will stop at nothing to prevent President Trump from returning to the White House,” Stefanik added.

Lawmakers are currently on recess now, with many back home in their states or districts or on congressional delegation trips.

Members of Congress return to Washington on Monday.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., a Trump ally, posted on X an image of an upside-down American flag, which is seen as a signal of distress. Inverted flags has been discussed in the news lately after one was seen flying at Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s house in 2021 shortly after Jan. 6.

Donald Trump was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels. These are the documents related to each count.

Trump’s campaign has already started fundraising off of the guilty verdict, blasting a promoted post on social media claiming to be a “political prisoner.”

“Now I’m asking for you to stand with me today,” Trump’s team wrote in a post on X. “Can you chip in any amount to help me take back the White House?”

Following Trump’s conviction today, the United States Secret Service’s chief of communications, Anthony Guglielmi, said in a statement: “Today’s outcome has no bearing on the manner in which the United States Secret Service carries out its protective mission. Our security measures will proceed unchanged.”

Vivek Ramaswamy, the entrepreneur and former GOP presidential contender who is widely seen as a possible vice presidential pick for Trump, blasted the verdict in a post on X, writing that it would “backfire.”

He also repeated a misleading talking point about the jury instructions.

Former President Donald Trump could soon join the millions of Americans whose voting rights depend on their criminal records when he is sentenced on 34 felony charges in the hush money case.

But experts say Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, is unlikely to be disenfranchised by the felony conviction in the New York case, noting that it would come down to whether he goes to prison as part of his sentence.

Read the full story here.

All members of the jury had to walk in front of Trump as they left the room after finding him guilty on all 34 counts.

Reactions from Democrats are starting to roll in on social media. Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said the jury’s verdict “proves what we have known to be true all along — Donald Trump is unfit to serve in any elected office, let alone President of the United States.”

“I was proud to lead both impeachments of Donald Trump, and now, I couldn’t be more proud to be a New Yorker now that Manhattan has led the way in convicting him as a felon,” Nadler wrote on X.

Similarly, Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., said in a post to X that “our legal system worked as intended,” and Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., noted on X that “the rule of law won today.”

Trump briefly spoke to cameras outside the courtroom and repeated many of the same comments he’s made in the same spot for the last several weeks.

“This was a disgrace,” he said. “This was a rigged trial by a conflicted judge who was corrupt … This was a rigged, disgraceful trial.”

Trump said the “real verdict will be Nov. 5 by the people.”

“I’m a very innocent man,” he said. “It’s OK. I’m fighting for our country. I’m fighting for our Constitution.”

Trump said the country has “gone to hell” and “we’re a divided mess.” He said millions of people are pouring into the U.S. from prisons and mental institutions and some are terrorists.

He repeated this was a “rigged decision right from Day One.”

“This is far from over,” he said, before walking away.

Seated in the courtroom pews behind Trump as the verdict was read were Steven Cheung and Karoline Leavitt, campaign press aides who, if they enter the courtroom at all, are typically seated in the far back.

Trump has left the courtroom. There were no bail charges for him and he left red, sullen and arms moving at his side.

The former president, speaking to reporters outside the courtroom, decried the trial as “rigged and disgraceful,” adding the “real verdict” will come on Election Day in November.

Trump’s sentencing hearing on July 11 will be just four days before the start of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said in a statement after the verdict was read that Trump was convicted on “ridiculous charges” and that the former president had been targeted politically.

“Today is a shameful day in American history,” Johnson wrote. “Democrats cheered as they convicted the leader of the opposing party on ridiculous charges, predicated on the testimony of a disbarred, convicted felon. This was a purely political exercise.”

The former president appeared red and sullen, arms moving at his side, as he left the courtroom where he has spent much of the last six weeks.

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Merchan ordered the sentencing hearing to begin at 10 a.m. on July 11 after both the defense and prosecutors agreed they would prefer a mid-July date.

Rep. Jim Jordan who chairs the House Judiciary panel, railed against the verdict shortly after it was delivered in a post on X.

“The verdict is a travesty of justice,” the Ohio Republican wrote. “The Manhattan kangaroo court shows what happens when our justice system is weaponized by partisan prosecutors in front of a biased judge with an unfair process, designed to keep President Trump off the campaign trail and avoid bringing attention to President Biden’s failing radical policies.”

Trump will be “vindicated on appeal,” Jordan added.

Members of the public are gathering outside the courthouse.

They seemed to be both opponents and supporters of the former president’s. One poster said, “Trump I don’t trust you.”

Another man was wearing a red MAGA hat and was being interviewed by media.

Merchan offered his gratitude to the jury following their verdict, noting the time taken away from their jobs and families to be present throughout the trial.

“I want you to know that I really admire your dedication, your hard work,” he said. “You gave this matter the attention it deserved, and I want to thank you for that.”

Blanche argued for a motion of acquittal, but Merchan turned down that request.

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Donald Trump looked at each of the jurors as they were polled. Eric Trump, the former president’s second-eldest son, looks angry. Alina Habba, the former president’s legal advisor, appears to be texting.

After delivering guilty verdicts on all counts, the jury was polled to confirm its finding.

The jurors confirmed this was their verdict.

The former president’s defense team include lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove.

There has been no internal guidance on reaction to the Trump verdict —nothing on what to say or not to say on social media, for example, according to a Biden campaign official. “Everyone pretending this isn’t happening,” the official said.

Trump has been found guilty on all 34 counts of business document fraud.

Trump has been found guilty on at least 20 counts. He has been found not guilty on zero counts. 

The verdict continues to be read. He was charged with 34 total counts.

Trump has been found guilty on at least 10 counts. He has been found not guilty on zero counts. 

The verdict continues to be read. He was charged with 34 total counts.

Trump has been found guilty on at least one count. 

The verdict continues to be read. He was charged with 34 total counts. 

The jury has returned to the courtroom.

The verdict will be read soon.

Court is back in session.

Eric Trump seems to be the former president’s only family member inside the courtroom.

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Biden is currently in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, about 200 miles from New York City.

Today is the ninth anniversary of his son Beau Biden’s death from brain cancer, and the president spent the somber occasion in church this morning with his family in Wilmington.

A senior White House official said there are “no plans” for the president to respond to the Trump verdict at this time.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and and his team have entered the courtroom.

They are occupying an entire row of seats.

The Trump table has gone from smiling to looking sour. They are very serious now and Trump has his armed crossed in front of his chest.

Trump and Blanche occasionally whisper to each other. Trump looks resigned and any levity seems to have dissipated from the defense table. His attorneys are hardly speaking now.

False reports about the jury instructions in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial have been spreading across right-wing media, leading to threats against the judge overseeing the case.

Several conservative news personalities, including some affiliated with Fox News, falsely claimed that Judge Juan Merchan, as one Fox News anchor put it in a viral post on X, “told the jury that they do not need unanimity to convict” Trump.

That’s not true. Merchan instructed the jury on Wednesday that they “must conclude unanimously that a defendant conspired to promote or prevent the election of any person to a public office by unlawful means,” adding that they “need not be unanimous as to what those unlawful means were.”

That means that jurors have to agree unanimously that Trump committed a crime by engaging in a criminal conspiracy to falsify records with the intent to commit one or more other crimes in order to convict him. But jurors can choose from three options about what those other crimes were.

Read the full story here.

The jury deliberated for a total of 9.5 hours over the course of two days before reaching a verdict.

Judge Juan Merchan told the courtroom that the jury has reached a verdict.

In reading a note from the jury, Merchan said: “We the jury have a verdict. We would like an extra 30 minutes to fill out the forms if that’d be possible.”

A few minutes past the supposed dismissal time, the courtroom is so silent that all I can hear are my own keystrokes and those of the reporters to my immediate right and left.

Even though we have no reason to believe that a verdict will be delivered before jurors are dismissed for the day, the courtroom is thick with tension.

Every cough is audible and can be heard echoing off the wood-paneled walls of the courtroom. Reporters are shifting in their seats to get a glimpse of the lawyers. Knowing looks about the wait are also being exchanged across the aisle.

At perhaps the ripest moment of tension, the courtroom door swings open … and in walks Andrew Giuliani, the son of the former New York City mayor

Throughout the day, Trump has continued to complain about Judge Juan Merchan, his trial and the jury instructions on Truth Social as he sits and awaits his fate in his holding room.

In just over 30 minutes, the former president has posted twice on his social media platform, arguing that the jury instructions were “UNFAIR, MISLEADING, INACCURATE, AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL,” and criticizing Judge Merchan as “HIGHLY CONFLICTED” and “BIASED.” Trump also repeated claims contending the trial is a witch hunt and election interference.

He also said, in all caps, that his civil rights have been “totally violated.”

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Trump is talking with his attorneys, turning to Todd Blanche, who is leaning towards the former president and covering his mouth, then to Emil Bove, who is also chatting with Susan Necheles, and smiling. 

Blanche is laughing as he whispers to Trump, who is also cracking a small smile as he listens.

Necheles and Bove seem to be in very good spirits.

Judge Merchan entered the courtroom and announced that the jury will be excused at 4:30 p.m. today. There is no verdict and no notes.

Trump, his defense lawyers and his son Eric are back in the courtroom. Upon entering, Trump said, “I wanna campaign.”

Prosecutors from the DA’s office are now in the courtroom, the jury did not ring the bell so it’s unclear why they are there. So far, the judge and the defense aren’t there either. DA Bragg is not here either.

While Trump awaits a verdict in the hush money trial, star witness Michael Cohen wants the Supreme Court to intervene in his lawsuit against the former president for sending him back to prison after his release.

Cohen last week requested more time to file his petition for a writ of certiorari, which the Supreme Court uses to hear many of its cases. The initial filing deadline was June 5, but Justice Sonia Sotomayor today extended the deadline to July 10. If Cohen’s eventual petition is granted by the Supreme Court, then the justices will hear the case and there will be more filings.

The lawsuit filed by Cohen is a so-called Bivens claim and it alleges constitutional violations against federal officials including Trump, former Attorney General Bill Barr, the Justice Department and others for remanding Cohen to Otisville prison on July 9, 2020, after he had been released for Covid precautions. Cohen has said for years that he felt he was being punished for writing a book about Trump.

There has been no sign of life from the jury.

The sole action in the courtroom this afternoon was when a member of the court staff used the copier to make copies of a document. It is unclear whether the copies had anything to do with this case.

North Dakota’s GOP governor, Doug Burgum, is at the courthouse. He’s rumored to be a potential vice presidential pick for Trump. He ran for the GOP nomination this cycle but dropped out in December.

A court officer has confirmed there have been no notes from the jury during the lunch break.

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Several ambulances pulled up to the courthouse within the last half hour.

“The issue is not believed to be connected to the Trump trial,” according to a senior NYC official.

A Black limo with a fake presidential seal and the license plate TRUMP 01 drove past 100 Centre Street.

Nadine Seiler, 59, a professional home organizer who lives in Maryland, traveled to NYC last Thursday. She plans to stay here until there is a verdict.

“Democracy is at stake,” she said. “I don’t think the people in this country are paying attention.”

“Project 2025 is going to be ushered in,” she said, referring to a conservative policy blueprint written in part by Trump allies. She said she is especially concerned about “mass deportations” and the rise of “white Christian nationalism.”

While Trump awaits a verdict, he posted a video featuring fake audio over actor Robert De Niro speaking at a recent news conference held by the Biden campaign alongside two former police officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The video features audio that altered De Niro’s remarks at the news conference. The audio includes a fake voice-over asking people to put on a mask and keep their distance, calling himself a “washed up actor” (an insult Trump waged at him in a recent post), accuses Biden of having “sick perversions,” saying he has “always been jealous” of Trump and other remarks containing homophobic rhetoric.

The post comes as part of a series of posts to Trump’s Truth Social platform this morning asserting prosecutors have no case against him in the hush money trial.

At least two anti-Trump demonstrators are holding court on the opposite side of the park, holding signs/banners (“Convict Trump Already,” “Convict the Bum”) and talking to the media.

The jurors themselves are not technically on a break, though, as they can continue to deliberate over lunch.

As the former president passes the time in his courthouse holding room waiting on the jury to finish its deliberations, NBC News has learned he has managed to get a television put in the room today (he didn’t have one yesterday). When asked what channel the TV is turned to, the source demurred. 

I counted around a dozen Trump supporters in the park across the street from the courthouse — a smaller crowd than the one that showed up yesterday around this time. The news crews have been repeatedly and profanely heckled by the Trump supporter in the anti-Biden cape, but otherwise the demonstration seems relatively quiet.

Merchan said the court would provide jurors with headphones and speakers as the jury was excused from the room to continue deliberations. He said they should hold off on deliberating until the audio is set up.

Jurors began deliberations again around 11:20 a.m.

Eric Trump smiled to some of the reporters in the back on his way. Not knowingly, just a general smile.

A dour, slow-moving Trump just exited the courtroom, doing his usual scan of the gallery; he is followed by exhausted-looking lawyer Todd Blanche and an even more-tired-looking lawyer Emil Bove.

The court’s readback has concluded. The attorneys and Trump were excused.

Jury deliberations are set to begin shortly as jurors prepare to head out of the courtroom.

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We’ve moved on to the last request from the jury: Michael Cohen’s testimony about the August 2015 meeting under direct examination by the prosecutors.

This is about Cohen’s side of the conversation with Pecker about negative stories Pecker may come upon.

The section they are reviewing now concerns Pecker’s meeting with prosecutors in July 2018 and, specifically, notes thereof, which do not reflect that Pecker told the government that Hope Hicks was at that August 2015 meeting. Pecker testified that he did not mention Hicks being there when he met with the government in July 2018.

The court read a portion of Pecker’s testimony in which he was asked about who was at an August 2015 meeting at Trump Tower.Pecker at one point during the trial testified that Trump and Cohen were both there while Hope Hicks was “in and out” of the room and Trump’s lawyer pressed him on that.

They are now reading a portion of Emil Bove’s cross-examination of David Pecker, which focuses on Pecker’s inability to remember precisely when, in August 2015, the Trump Tower meeting took place.

BOVE: “These are things that happened a long time ago, right?

PECKER: “Yes.”

Everything the jury is hearing read back from the Pecker testimony this morning is about the alleged conspiracy to influence the election — not a word of this is about the 34 counts of falsifying business records, which is notable.

If the documents aren’t false records — the jury doesn’t even need to reach the question of whether the state has proven the other crime that bumps the charges up to the felony. Pecker was also the first witness, who testified weeks ago at this point, so jurors have heard a lot since that time. But they’ve also heard an instruction telling them they can’t convict Trump on Michael Cohen’s word alone under the law.

As part of Pecker’s account of the August 2015 meeting, he testified that notifying Trump, through Michael Cohen, of negative stories about women or other negative stories that came to their attention, did not help the National Enquirer, as contrasted with the other two components of the agreement, which were mutually beneficial.

The prosecutor had asked him, “The purpose of that part was to benefit the campaign; am I understanding it right?” “That’s right,” Pecker said.

This transcript reading is getting into the crux of the jury’s request: who was at the Trump Tower meeting, how the Trump Tower meeting came about, etc.

This transcript portion is about Pecker saying he would notify Michael Cohen if any negative stories about Donald Trump came up.

Prosecutor: “Did you believe that would help Mr. Trump’s campaign?”

David Pecker: “I believe it was a mutual benefit.”

The courtroom is packed and a little warm. But most people are rapt. The voices of the “questioner” and “witness” are clear as day, and the only noise in the courtroom is the clickety-clacking of dozens of laptops.

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The readers have moved onto the redirect examination of David Pecker by prosecutor Joshua Steinglass.

This is about Pecker telling Cohen to rip up the agreement.

“I told him we were trying to help the campaign and to do that, we were going to keep this as quiet as possible,” Pecker said.

This readback is faster than the testimony was on that day because Pecker would speak slower and you don’t have the natural pauses a witness would take after getting asked a question. It’s not a significant detail but explains why they’re blowing through the requests.

They’re now rereading David Pecker’s testimony on the decision not to finalize and fund Karen McDougal’s life rights. McDougal, a former Playboy model, said she had an affair with Trump, which he denies.

During this testimony, Pecker recalled telling Cohen that he wanted to “tear up” the life rights assignment, and Cohen warned him Trump would be “very mad,” and Pecker confirmed that AMI was never reimbursed for the payment it made to acquire the exclusive life rights to McDougal’s story.

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She just reached the part where David Pecker recounted telling Trump, “I think that the story should be purchased, and I think you should buy it.”

That section ends with Trump telling Pecker he will think about it and will have Michael Cohen call him back in a few days.

During this reread, Trump’s eyes are closed.

The woman who is playing the “witness” just recited the part of David Pecker’s testimony about his phone conversation with Trump at his investor’s office, during which he is asked why he told Trump to purchase the Karen McDougal story.

“I believed the story was true. I believed it would have been very embarrassing to himself and also to the campaign,” she read.

For timing purposes, remember this started at 10:27 a.m., and Merchan said he expected it to take about 30 minutes or so last night. So they should be done around 11 a.m.

A court employee is now beginning to reread the testimony requested by the jury.

“I am going to read the questions as if I am a lawyer, and my colleague is going to read the answers as if she’s a witness,” the staffer, a woman, said.

The blond, bespectacled woman playing the witness is sitting in the witness box; neither was identified by name but were merely introduced as “colleagues.”

Both women who are reading the witness testimony have a New York accent. 

“Under New York State and New York City law, it is unlawful to knowingly supply or submit materially false or fraudulent information in connection with any tax return,” the instructions read.

“Likewise, under federal law, it is unlawful for a person to willfully make any tax return, statement, or other document that is fraudulent or false as to any material matter, or that the person does not believe to be true and correct as to every material matter.”

Judge Merchan reread the prosecution’s theories of “unlawful means” and he said he will define the Federal Election Campaign Act.

Under that act, he said, it’s illegal for an individual to “willfully make a contribution to any candidate with respect to any election for federal office, including the office of President of the United States, which exceeds a certain limit.” He said in 2015 and 2016, that limit was $2,700.

“It is also unlawful under the Federal Election Campaign Act for any corporation to willfully make a contribution of any amount to a candidate or candidate’s campaign in connection with any federal election, or for any person to cause such a corporate contribution. For purposes of these prohibitions, an expenditure made in cooperation, consultation, or concert with, or at the request or suggestion of, a candidate or his agents shall be considered to be a contribution to such candidate.”

He added that the terms contribution and expenditure “include anything of value, including any purchase, payment, loan, or advance, made by any person for the purpose of influencing any election for federal office.”

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“Section 17-152 of the New York Election Law provides that any two or more persons who conspire to promote or prevent the election of any person to a public office by unlawful means and which conspiracy is acted upon by one or more of the parties thereto, shall be guilty of conspiracy to promote or prevent an election,” the instructions read.

“Under our law, a person is guilty of such a conspiracy when, with intent that conduct be performed that would promote or prevent the election of a person to public office by unlawful means, he or she agrees with one or more persons to engage in or cause the performance of such conduct.”

As Merchan explains that the jury needs to unanimously find that the conspiracy was to promote Trump’s election by “unlawful means,” but that it does not have to agree on what those means are, Juror 10 appears to nod.

Judge Merchan reread the charge of falsification of business records. He said a person is guilty of that in the first degree “when, with intent to defraud that includes an intent to commit another crime or to aid or conceal the commission thereof, that person: makes or causes a false entry in the business records of an enterprise.”

He said enterprise “means any entity of one or more persons, corporate or otherwise, public or private, engaged in business, commercial, professional, industrial, social, political or governmental activity.”

Merchan said business record “means any writing or article, including computer data or a computer program, kept or maintained by an enterprise for the purpose of evidencing or reflecting its condition or activity.”

Note the accomplice liability instruction, which still requires that Trump instruct/command/solicit, etc. the person actually committing the falsification, is separate from the word “cause,” which appears in the falsification of business records statute and charge.

The charge does note define the word “cause,” despite the prosecution’s request. But in his closing, proseuctor Joshua Steinglass subtly encouraged the jury to use an expansive understanding of “cause.”

Robert Burck, the Times Square performer knows as The Naked Cowboy, confirms with police that he’s in the right place before walking into the area for Trump supporters.

Trump’s head is bobbing slowly forward until his chin rests on his chest before he jerks it back every so often. He is resting his hands on his lap.

At one point, his eyes closed.