NEW YORK (Reuters) – A New York jury on Thursday found Donald Trump guilty of falsifying business records to cover up a hush-money payment to a porn star, making him the first former U.S. president to be convicted of a crime.
Here are some reactions to the historic verdict:
REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE TRUMP
“This was a disgrace. This was a rigged trial by a conflicted judge who is corrupt. … We’ll keep fighting. We’ll fight to the end, and we’ll win. … The real verdict is going to be Nov. 5, by the people. They know what happened here. I am a very innocent man.”
CAMPAIGN OF PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN AND VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS
“In New York today, we saw that no one is above the law. 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. 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. A second Trump term means chaos, ripping away Americans’ freedoms and fomenting political violence – and the American people will reject it this November.”
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN JIM JORDAN, REPUBLICAN OF OHIO
“The verdict is a travesty of justice. 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. Americans see through Democrats’ lawfare tactics and know President Trump will be vindicated on appeal.”
US REPRESENTATIVE ERIC SWALWELL, DEMOCRAT OF CALIFORNIA
“Donald Trump is a convicted felon. This verdict is not a win for any single person. It’s a win for an idea. The idea that we all follow the same rules. The rule of law won today.”
(Compiled by Jonathan Oatis; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
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