(RepublicanNews.org) – The Donald Trump hush money trial had its first day of deliberations on Wednesday, May 29th, after hearing closing arguments by the prosecution and defense the day before.
After twelve hours of deliberation over the course of two days, a verdict was finally reached: guilty.
The former president was outwardly negative upon leaving the courtroom prior to jury deliberations. He claimed that even “Mother Teresa” could not beat the 34 charges of business record falsification levied against him. His defense team focused closing arguments on the possibility of reasonable doubt, reminding the jury that they must be absolutely certain of Trump’s guilt in order to find him guilty.
Defense attorney Todd Blanche told the Manhattan jurors that there were 10 reasons why they should have reasonable doubt of Trump’s guilt. They included that his client had no intention to defraud and that the money paid to Michel Cohen was truly for legal costs. Cohen has acted as a witness for the prosecution, claiming that the $130,000 was not for legal expenses but was for Daniels’ alleged hush money. Blanche also said that Trump had no intention of concealing any crime, which is a prerequisite to secure a felony conviction. He also took the opportunity to cast doubt on Cohen’s veracity as a witness, calling him a “liar” and the “human embodiment of reasonable doubt.”
Former President Trump is now the first president ever to be convicted of a crime, a fact which may make or break his 2024 campaign. Trump immediately took to social media to express his outrage at the guilty verdict. He addressed the press, saying that the “real” verdict would come on November 5th in the presidential election. The Trump team wasted no time in kicking off a fundraising push, raising over $34 million since the verdict was announced.
The former president will be sentenced on July 11th at 10 am EST, just days before the Republican National Convention. Though jail time is a possibility, it seems far more likely that Trump will be sentenced to a long period of probation or hefty fines.
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