Donald Trump on Thursday became the first former president to be convicted of felony crimes as a New York jury found him guilty of falsifying business records in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through hush money payments to a porn actor who said the two had sex.
The jury convicted Donald Trump on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records brought the former president’s weekslong trial to a close but ushered in a new phase of the historic case.
Now in the unique position of being the first former US president convicted of a felony, Trump faces the possibility of a prison sentence or probation for his crimes stemming from a hush money payment scheme he helped facilitate ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Trump – who is known for mounting lengthy appeals of court rulings against him – is also likely to appeal the conviction, which could significantly delay his sentencing, currently set for July 11.
Meanwhile, Trump’s defense lawyer Todd Blanche said in an interview with Fox News that he expects to appeal the trial judge’s decision not to recuse himself.
Asked on Thursday night if he thought Trump got a fair trial, Blanche responded: “No, I don’t think so.”
Trump and his lawyers repeatedly argued Judge Merchan should not have presided over the case, suggesting he had shown signs of bias.
Blanche noted that he had filed two separate motions asking Judge Merchan to recuse himself from the trial.
Calling the situation “not fair,” he extolled Trump as “a husband, a father, a grandfather and a friend to a lot of people. When you see that happen to him, and I was standing right next to him today, it’s heartbreaking.”
