Watch: How Donald Trump’s conviction could impact U.S. election

In May, Donald Trump became the first former American President to be convicted of felony crimes, as a New York jury found him guilty of all 34 charges in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to a porn actor who said the two had sex.

The conviction, and even imprisonment, will not bar Trump from continuing his pursuit of the White House, as the US goes to the polls later this year. He will be up against Joe Biden yet again.

This episode looks at the impact of Trump’s conviction on American politics, and if it will have any impact on voters. Prof. Allan Lichtman joins Narayan Lakshman in this episode. Mr Lichtman is a History professor at American University.

Prof Lichtman explains how through his predictive model, he was able to analyse the current scenario, looking at the economic and foreign policy, and also the popularity of Biden and Trump.

Host: Narayan Lakshman

Video: Thamodharan B

Production: Zeeshan Akhtar

Washington:

The first U.S. presidential debate between incumbent Joe Biden and Republican rival Donald Trump on June 27 will include two commercial breaks, no props and muted microphones except when recognized to speak, CNN said Saturday.

In May, the candidates agreed to face off in two debates including one this month that will be moderated by CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash in Atlanta, while the other on Sept. 10 will be hosted by ABC.

CNN said Saturday both candidates will appear at a uniform podium during the 90-minute debate, podium positions will be determined by a coin flip and candidates will be given a pen, a pad of paper and a bottle of water but cannot use props.

“Microphones will be muted throughout the debate except for the candidate whose turn it is to speak,” CNN said.

CNN, a division of Warner Bros Discovery, said the moderators “will use all tools at their disposal to enforce timing and ensure a civilized discussion.”

During the two commercial breaks, campaign staff may not interact with their candidate, and there will be no studio audience.

CNN said candidates eligible to participate must appear on a sufficient number of state ballots to reach the 270 electoral vote threshold needed to win and receive at least 15% in four separate national polls.

CNN said it is “not impossible” Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running as an independent, could qualify, saying he has received at least 15% in three qualifying polls to date and has qualified for the ballot in six states, making him eligible for 89 electoral college votes.

Debates, which will draw a U.S. live television audience in the tens of millions, are fraught with risks for both candidates, who face a close race.

Biden has three preferred debate topics, according to a campaign memo viewed by Reuters: abortion rights, the state of democracy and the economy.

Trump refused to debate his rivals during the Republican nominating race. His team has pointed to immigration, public safety and inflation as key issues ahead of the debate.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

Donald Trump says his historic criminal trial was “very hard” on his wife Melania, a notable absentee from the close family members who attended court in support of the former president.

“She’s fine, but I think it’s very hard for her,” Trump said in an interview aired on Fox and Friends Sunday. “She has to read all this crap.”

“I think it’s probably in many ways, it’s tougher on my family than it is on me,” he added.

A jury convicted Trump Thursday on all 34 felony charges of falsifying business records in the final stages of the 2016 presidential campaign to cover up a sex scandal involving porn star Stormy Daniels.

It was the first criminal conviction of a former president in US history and means Trump is now running in the November 5 presidential election as a felon.

While three of his adult children attended the closing days of the trial, Melania was absent throughout.

She has barely engaged with her husband’s White House campaign, failing to appear at a single Trump rally and rarely joins him in public.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Movie legend Robert De Niro has been stripped of a prestigious leadership award after making a slew of fiery anti-Trump remarks outside the former president’s criminal trial. The 80-year-old Oscar-winner was set to receive the National Association of Broadcasters’ Service to America Award next Tuesday in Washington, D.C, but the organization rescinded the award because they claim the ceremony is ”proudly bi-partisan.”

In a statement to The Hill, a spokesperson for the group said, ”This event is proudly bipartisan, uniting those from across the political spectrum to celebrate the impactful work of local broadcasters and our partners.”

“While we strongly support the right of every American to exercise free speech and participate in civic engagement, it is clear that Mr De Niro’s recent high-profile activities will create a distraction from the philanthropic work that we were hoping to recognize. To maintain the focus on the service of the award winners, Mr. De Niro will no longer be attending the event.”

Notably, Mr De Niro, who has been a frequent critic of Trump through the years, was invited by Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, to say a few words at a press conference outside the courthouse. The actor tore into Trump and called him a ”threat” to the country, claiming that he incited violence and destruction on January 6, 2021, at the US Capitol.

”I don’t mean to scare you. No no, wait, maybe I do mean to scare you. If Trump returns to the White House, you can kiss away these freedoms that we take for granted and elections, forget about it,” the actor said.

He also called Donald Trump a “clown,” adding that “we’ve forgotten the lessons of history that showed us other clowns who weren’t taken seriously until they became vicious dictators.”

“With Trump, we have a second chance, and no one is laughing now. This is the time to stop him by voting him out once and for all. If he gets in, I can tell you right now, he will never leave,” he added. 

Speaking to Sky News, Mr De Niro said that Mr Trump should not be the President of the United States. “You know my view of Donald Trump, he’s a monster. He should not be allowed… listen – he cannot be president of the United States again, never, ever.”

Just hours after the NAB announced their decision, the Hollywood actor didn’t protest it and said he supports the NAB. ”I support the work of the NAB Leadership Foundation and would like to express my appreciation and gratitude for what the Foundation has done and will continue to do for the good of us all, and I wish them well for their continued good work,” he responded. 

 

Former U.S. President Donald Trump
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Donald Trump’s campaign said it had raised nearly $53 million in online small-dollar donations after he was convicted in his New York hush money trial, boasting that the verdict had galvanised his support “like never before.”

The record haul was equivalent to more than $2 million raised per hour, it said.

Senior campaign aides Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said in statements that more than a third of the total came from new donors to the campaign and hailed an “outpouring of support from patriots across our country.”

Calling the Thursday court decision a “sham trial verdict” the advisors reported that the “digital fundraising system was overwhelmed with support” despite temporary online delays “because of the amount of traffic” from small-dollar donors.

As of Friday evening, the day’s total had climbed to a whopping $52.8 million.

A jury convicted Mr. Trump on Thursday on all 34 charges of falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal in the final stages of the 2016 presidential campaign.

Prosecutors said Mr. Trump had sex with porn actress Stormy Daniels soon after his wife Melania had given birth in 2006, and then paid hush money a decade later to avoid the fallout and deceive voters, before creating false paperwork to conceal the payment.

He is due for sentencing on July 11 but is expected to appeal the verdict.

“Crooked Joe Biden and the Democrats with their election interference political witch hunt have awakened the MAGA movement like never before,” LaCivita and Wiles said.

President Joe Biden has been at pains to avoid commenting on the trial and there is no evidence that he or his administration had any involvement in the investigation, which was launched by New York state, not the federal government.

Mr. Trump has a long record of turning scandal to his advantage, and his campaign website began redirecting visitors to a fundraising page declaring he was a “political prisoner” moments after he was convicted.

The page crashed for around an hour within minutes of launching, however, as the surge of Trump supporters overwhelmed WinRed, the official Republican Party donation platform.

Mr. Trump regularly characterizes his legal woes as a battle against the evil forces of the “deep state” and Mr. Biden’s White House, casting himself as a martyr willing to sacrifice his liberty to stand up for his supporters.

In April he compared himself to South African anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela for the second time, and he has also likened himself to Jesus Christ.

“WITCH HUNT! IF THIS CAN HAPPEN TO ME, IT CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE!,” Mr. Trump posted on his platform Truth Social on Friday.

X, formerly known as Twitter, will host self-styled “town hall” meetings with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy ahead of the country’s November elections.

The move comes as the owner of the social media site, Elon Musk, appears to be cozying up to Trump, who is reportedly considering the Tesla boss for a role in the White House in the event of a victory, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week.

Musk said in a tweet on Friday that the events “will be interesting,” confirming a report on the matter first made by Axios.

No dates or further details were given for the forums with the ex-president and Kennedy, which will be held in conjunction with cable network NewsNation.

Joe Biden was also extended an invitation, but a source close to his campaign told AFP the president will not participate and remains focused on the already planned pair of debates against Trump.

Since Musk’s 2022 acquisition of Twitter, the platform has taken a decidedly right-leaning turn, including with the reinstatement of accounts of right-wing conspiracy theorists, as well as Trump.

The platform has made several attempts to attract conservative politicians, hosting, for example, a Q&A when Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced he was running to be the Republican presidential candidate.

The launch event was overrun with glitches however. DeSantis later dropped out of the race, giving his support to Trump.

Musk, who once donated money to Democrats, has increasingly used his X account to relay xenophobic conspiracy theories, misinformation and a hard line on immigration that closely matches Trump’s.

Still, the South African-born tech guru has said he will not give his financial support to either Trump or Biden in this year’s election.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

On Thursday, former US President Donald Trump was found guilty on 34 felony charges regarding hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign. The 77-year-old, who is the first former US president to be criminally convicted, still faces criminal charges in three other cases, whose trials are yet to begin. 

Mr Trump faced 88 criminal counts in all and 54 now remain. Here’s a look at the other criminal cases against him.

June 2023: Classified Documents Case 

Mr Trump is charged with mishandling classified documents and hoarding them at his Palm Beach, Florida, home after completing his term as President. He is accused of obstructing the FBI’s attempts to retrieve those documents. It is said that the documents were taken from the White House office and stored at his private residence in January 2021. FBI agents raided Mar-a-Lago the next year and seized dozens of classified and top-secret documents. In June 2023, Trump was indicted on 40 counts for mishandling the secret documents. 

A trial in the case was scheduled to begin on May 20, but Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed to the federal bench by Mr Trump, postponed it, stating that there are too many outstanding pre-trial motions and classified issues that need to be resolved. It is unlikely that the trial will start before the 2024 November election.

August 2023: Capitol Riots Case 

In August 2023, the former President was indicted on four felony charges for his efforts to block the peaceful transfer of power from him to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election and working to overturn the results of the election. He is also accused of instigating violent riots at the US Capitol on January 6.  

Federal prosecution regarding this case was brought by Jack Smith, charging Mr Trump with conspiring to defraud the United States government and obstructing official proceedings.

The trial is yet to begin as Mr Trump claims that he can’t be prosecuted for actions taken while he was president. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

August 2023: Georgia Election Interference Case 

A Fulton County grand jury indicted Mr Trump with 10 felony counts for interfering in the 2020 Georgia Presidential election to overturn the results to the state. He faces charges of attempting to overturn the 2020 election as part of a “racketeering conspiracy” with 18 allies. 

A key event in this case was his January 2, 2021, phone call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which Trump urged Raffensperger to “find” 11,780 votes to reverse Biden’s victory.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis launched a criminal investigation in February 2021, with a special grand jury examining potential violations, including solicitation of election fraud, and conspiracy. This case has drawn significant public and political attention, with critics viewing it as an attack on democracy. The investigations in this case are still ongoing.

The three remaining criminal cases are proceeding slowly. The US Supreme Court is trying to determine if Mr Trump should be criminally immune for actions he took while he was President. He has also sought to delay any trials until after the November presidential election and it will be interesting to see what happens to these cases after he wins. 

Donald Trump launched into attacks on the judge in his criminal trial and continued to undermine New York’s criminal justice system on May 31 as he tried to repackage his conviction on 34 felony charges as fuel, not an impediment, to his latest White House bid.

Trump spoke to reporters at his namesake tower in Manhattan on Friday, his return to campaigning a day after he was convicted of trying to illegally influence the 2016 election by falsifying business records to hide a hush money payment to a porn actor who claimed they had sex.

Also read | Analysis: How former U.S. President Donald Trump got convicted at his hush money trial

Trump, as defiant as ever, argued the verdict was illegitimate and driven by politics and sought to downplay the allegations underlying the case.

“It’s not hush money. It’s a nondisclosure agreement, totally legal, totally common,” he said.

In a message aimed to galvanize his supporters, he declared: “If they can do this to me, they can do this to anyone.”

While the guilty verdict against him and his vow to fight appeared to motivate his base of supporters, including those who began pouring donations into his campaign, it’s unclear if any of this will help him with independent voters who will be decisive in the November election.

No former president or presumptive party nominee has ever faced a felony conviction or the prospect of prison time, and Trump is expected to keep his legal troubles central to his campaign. He has long argued without evidence that the four indictments against him were orchestrated by Democratic President Joe Biden to try to keep him out of the White House. The hush money case was filed by local prosecutors in Manhattan who do not work for the Justice Department or any White House office.

Trump chose to start Friday in the atrium of Trump Tower, the brass and rose marble lobby where he descended his golden escalator to announce his 2016 campaign nine years ago next month.

In his disjointed remarks, Trump initially started attacking Biden on immigration and tax policies before pivoting to his case, growling that he was threatened with jail time if he violated a gag order. He picked apart intricate parts of the case and trial proceedings as unfair, making false statements and misrepresentations as he did so.

Trump said he wanted to testify but said the judge wanted to go into every detail. “I would have liked to have testified,” he said. “But you would have said something out of whack like ‘it was a beautiful sunny day,’ and it was actually raining out.”

Trump, who had the right to testify but didn’t, also tested the limits of the gag order that prohibits him from publicly critiquing witnesses including Michael Cohen, calling his former fixer, the star witness in the case, “a sleazebag.”

His son Eric Trump and daughter-in-law Lara Trump joined him, but his wife, Melania Trump, who has been publicly silent since the verdict, was not seen.

Outside, on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, supporters gathered across the street were flying a giant red “TRUMP OR DEATH” sign that was flapping in front of a high-end boutique. A small group of protesters held up signs that said “Guilty” and “Justice matters.”

On Friday morning, his campaign announced it had raised $34.8 million as donations poured in after the verdict. That’s more than $1 million for each felony charge and more than his political operation raised in January and February combined.

Trump and his campaign had been preparing for a guilty verdict for days, even as they held out hope for a hung jury. On Tuesday, Trump railed that not even Mother Teresa, the nun and saint, could beat the charges, which he repeatedly labeled as “rigged.”

His top aides on Wednesday released a memo in which they insisted a verdict would have no impact on the election, whether Trump was convicted or acquitted.

The news nonetheless landed with a jolt. Trump, his team and reporters at the courthouse had been under the impression that the jury on Thursday would wrap up deliberations for the day at 4:30 p.m. Trump sat smiling and chatting with his lawyers as the proceedings seemed to be coming to a close.

Trump had spent the hours before the verdict was announced sequestered in the private courtroom where he had spent breaks throughout the trial, huddled with his attorneys and campaign aides, eating from a revolving lunch menu of McDonald’s, pizza, and subs.

As the jury was deciding his fate, he filled his time making calls, firing off social media missives and chatting with friends, including developer Steve Witkoff, who joined him in court, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who is considered a top vice presidential contender.

In a sign that they expected deliberations to continue, Trump’s holding room was outfitted with a television Thursday, according to two people familiar with the setup who, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the case.

Instead, Merchan announced that a verdict had been reached. Thirty minutes later, Trump listened as the jury delivered a guilty verdict on every count. Trump sat stone-faced while the verdict was read.

His campaign fired off a flurry of fundraising appeals, and GOP allies rallied to his side. One text message called him a “political prisoner,” even though he hasn’t yet found out if he will be sentenced to prison. The campaign also began selling black “Make America Great Again” caps to reflect a “dark day in history.”

Aides reported an immediate rush of contributions so intense that WinRed, the platform the campaign uses for fundraising, crashed. The $34.8 million raised Thursday did not include what Trump collected at his in-person fundraiser or any donations that continued to come in online Friday.

“President Trump and our campaign are immensely grateful from this outpouring of support from patriots across our country,” Trump’s senior campaign advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said in a statement. “President Trump is fighting to save our nation and November 5th is the day Americans will deliver the real verdict.”

Trump has long complained that the trial limited his campaign appearances for several weeks. “I want to campaign,” he had told reporters Thursday morning before a verdict was reached.

It is unclear, however, how much Trump’s schedule will ramp up in the days ahead. He held only a handful of public campaign events as the trial unfolded, despite the fact that he had Wednesdays, as well as evenings and weekends, to do what he wished.

He’s set in the upcoming two months to have his first debate with Biden, announce a running mate and formally accept his party’s nomination at the Republican National Convention.

But before he goes to Milwaukee for the RNC, Trump will have to return to court on July 11 for sentencing. He could face penalties ranging from a fine or probation up to four years in prison.

Donald Trump still faces a host of legal troubles after a New York jury on Thursday convicted him of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to a porn star.

The Republican candidate has been indicted in three other cases — two in federal courts and one in state court, and has pleaded not guilty to all charges. He is unlikely to face trial in these before squaring off with Democratic President Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 U.S. election.

A conviction does not bar him from running for office, and he could attempt to end the federal prosecutions or pardon himself for any federal crimes if he regains the presidency.

Here is a look at the major legal cases facing the former U.S. president:

TRIAL OVER HUSH MONEY TO PORN STAR

A jury on Thursday convicted Trump of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 payment his former lawyer Michael Cohen made to porn star Stormy Daniels for her silence before the 2016 presidential election about a sexual encounter she said she had with him in 2006.

It could be the only trial Trump faces before the election. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, accused Trump of trying to conceal a violation of election laws by recording his reimbursement to Cohen as monthly legal fees in his real estate company’s books.

Trump pleaded not guilty on April 4, 2023 and has denied having a sexual encounter with Daniels but acknowledged reimbursing Cohen for the payment. His lawyers have said that the hush money payment could have been intended to spare himself and his family embarrassment, not to benefit his presidential campaign.

Prosecutors argued the altered records covered up election-law and tax-law violations – since the money was essentially an unreported contribution to Trump’s campaign – that elevate the crimes from misdemeanors to felonies punishable by up to four years in prison.

Trump has called Cohen a “serial liar” and Cohen’s credibility was a key issue during the trial.

SPECIAL COUNSEL’S ELECTION SUBVERSION CHARGES

The U.S. Supreme Court in April considered Trump’s claim that he has immunity from prosecution for trying to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden.

The federal case, brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith was scheduled to go to trial on March 4 but is on hold awaiting the top court’s ruling.

On Jan. 6, 2021, Trump’s supporters attacked the Capitol – assaulting police and breaking into the building – after the then-president gave a speech telling them to march there and “fight like hell” to prevent the election from being “stolen.”They carried out a deadly rampage while U.S. lawmakers were inside meeting to certify Biden’s victory. Prosecutors said Trump exploited the attack, spurning advice urging him to quickly send a message directing the rioters to leave.

Trump and others also organized fraudulent slates of electors in seven states, all of which he lost, to be certified as official by Congress in a bid to thwart certification of Biden’s victory, the indictment said.

Trump pleaded not guilty on Aug. 3, 2023, to a four-count indictment, which presented examples of Trump’s false claims of widespread voting fraud and noted that close advisers had told him the election results were legitimate.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in February rejected Trump’s argument that former presidents cannot face criminal charges for conduct related to their official responsibilities.

During arguments, the Supreme Court’s conservative judges signaled some support for U.S. presidents having some level of protection from criminal charges for certain acts taken in office. The eventual ruling may narrow the special counsel’s allegations against Trump, but it is likely that at least parts of the indictment will survive.

NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL CIVIL LAWSUIT

Trump was ordered in February to pay $354.9 million in penalties after a New York state judge, Justice Arthur Engoron, ruled last September that the former president repeatedly committed fraud, overstating his net worth by as much as $3.6 billion a year.

In a civil fraud case, New York State Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat had accused Trump and his family real estate business, the Trump Organization, of lying from 2011 to 2021 about his net worth and the value of his properties to obtain better terms from lenders and insurers.

With daily interest that began to accrue in 2019, the payout had grown to $454.2 million with interest by Feb. 22, and additional interest is tacked on each day.

Trump posted a $175 million bond while he appeals the judgment, averting state seizure of his assets to satisfy the verdict.

GEORGIA ELECTION-SUBVERSION CHARGES

Trump on Aug. 31, 2023, pleaded not guilty to state criminal charges in Georgia arising from his efforts to reverse his 2020 election loss to Biden. A grand jury indicted him after an investigation by the office of Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis, a Democrat.

He was charged with 13 felony counts, accused of pressuring state officials to reverse his election loss in Georgia and setting up a fake slate of electors to undermine the congressional certification of Biden’s victory.

Trump and 18 co-defendants were charged under Georgia’s broadly written Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act that originally targeted the mafia. The judge later dismissed six counts, including three against Trump.

In January, a controversy erupted over a personal relationship Willis had with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.

Judge Scott McAfee in March ruled that Willis could remain on the case but said Wade must step down, which he did. In May, an appeals court agreed to hear Trump’s bid seeking to disqualify Willis, further delaying the case.

Other co-defendants in the case include Trump’s former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and lawyers Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman. They have pleaded not guilty.

Four people charged in the case, including former Trump lawyers Sidney Powell, Kenneth Chesebro and Jenna Ellis, pleaded guilty after striking deals with prosecutors.

No trial date has been set.

SPECIAL COUNSEL’S CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS CHARGES

Trump pleaded not guilty on June 13, 2023, and again on Aug. 4, 2023, to charges brought by Smith in federal court in Florida that he unlawfully kept classified national security documents after leaving office in January 2021 and misled officials who sought to recover them.

Trump faces 40 criminal counts in the case. A trial is on indefinite hold after U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, postponed a scheduled May 20 start without setting a new date.

The documents included information about the U.S. nuclear program and potential vulnerabilities in the event of an attack, according to the indictment. Smith accused Trump of risking national secrets by taking thousands of sensitive papers with him when he left the White House and storing them haphazardly at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and golf club in New Jersey.

Trump faces charges that include violations of the Espionage Act, which criminalizes unauthorized possession of defense information, and conspiracy to obstruct justice, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Trump has argued that he deemed the materials personal property.

SEXUAL ABUSE AND DEFAMATION CIVIL LAWSUITS

A Manhattan jury on Jan. 26 ordered Trump to pay $83.3 million to writer E. Jean Carroll in her defamation lawsuit against him. Jurors found that Trump harmed Carroll and acted with malice when he defamed her by denying in 2019 that he raped her in the mid-1990s in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in Manhattan.

A federal judge in April rejected Trump’s bid to throw out the award and his bid for a new trial. Trump is appealing the award.

On May 9, 2023, another jury ordered Trump to pay Carroll $5 million over his similar October 2022 denial, finding that he had defamed and sexually abused Carroll. Trump also has appealed that decision.

Trump has denied any encounter with Carroll and accused her of making up her story to sell her memoir.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump has reacted to her father’s criminal conviction in the ‘hush money trial’ in New York. After the jury found the former US President guilty on all felony charges, Ivanka shared on her Instagram stories a childhood photo of herself sitting in her father’s lap. Alongside the image, she wrote, “I love you dad,” followed by a heart emoji.

“Ivanka is fully supportive of her dad and loves him very much despite his conviction,” revealed a source close to the family to The New York Post.

She has been an integral part of her father’s political journey, having previously served as a senior advisor in the Trump administration and holding the position of Director of the Office of Economic Initiatives and Entrepreneurship. In 2022, Ms Ivanka, amid speculations about her potential involvement in her father’s anticipated 2024 presidential bid, clarified that she would not be entering the political arena this time around. Instead, she would focus on young children and family, she claimed back then.

Donald Trump has been convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal a $1,30,000 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential elections. During the 7-week trial, both Ms Daniels and Mr Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen testified against the president, making shocking allegations. 

The 77-year-old  was accused of covering up a significant sum of money as payment to Ms Daniels to cover up potential sex scandals that could have harmed his 2016 campaign. While Ms Daniels alleged a sexual encounter in 2006 and maintained her account of the incident, the former president vehemently denied any wrongdoing.

After an extended period of deliberation, the jury delivered their verdict at 4:20 pm on Thursday and the Manhattan Supreme Court also delivered its verdict around 5 pm.