Former president Donald Trump has become the first former US 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 an adult film actress who claimed they had a sexual encounter.
The jury deliberated for over nine hours over two days before convicting Trump on all 34 charges.
Trump sat impassively as the verdict was read while cheering from the street below echoed through the hallway on the courthouse’s 15th floor where the decision was announced.
“This was a rigged, disgraceful trial,” he told reporters after leaving the courtroom. “The real verdict will come on 5th November from the people. They know what happened, and everyone knows what happened here.”
Trump is expected to appeal the verdict swiftly and will face a challenging dynamic as he returns to the campaign trail as a convicted felon. While there are no campaign rallies scheduled currently, he is expected to hold fundraisers next week.
His sentencing is scheduled for 11th July, just days before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee where Republican leaders were expected to formally nominate him after staying steadfast in their support immediately after the verdict.
It appears unlikely that Trump will be sentenced to prison largely because it is rare for individuals with no criminal history who are convicted solely of falsifying business records to be sentenced to prison in New York. Fines or probation are more common.
However, the maximum sentence for Trump’s crime of falsifying business records is 1 - 1/3 to 4 years in prison.
If punished beyond a fine, Trump could be placed under home confinement or subjected to a curfew rather than imprisoned.
Interestingly, as a former President, Trump has a lifetime Secret Service detail, and the logistics of keeping him safe behind bars could be complicated.
Trump could as well be released on bail while appealing his conviction.
Interestingly, the former one-term president could still very well be president again.
This is because the US Constitution lays out a clear set of guidelines for those seeking to be the next president. The criteria, outlined in Article II, Section 1, are brief: A candidate must be a "natural born citizen" (largely taken to mean born in the US), be at least 35 years old, and have lived in America for 14 years.
No part of the Constitution says people who have been convicted of crimes cannot run for president.
Trump will not be the first presidential candidate-turned-convict
In 1920, Eugene Debs was the official presidential nominee of the Socialist Party of America, and he campaigned from prison in Atlanta after he was found guilty of sedition.
Debs was not a serious contender to win the presidency as he won no electoral votes.
A Trump victory could create an unprecedented situation later this year if he wins the election.
Theoretically, Trump could be sworn in from jail on Inauguration Day, 20th January 2025.
