Former President Donald Trump made history Thursday as the first American president to be convicted of a felony. At Trump Towers in Manhattan on Friday, he spoke to a crowd regarding his guilty verdict.
“This is a case where if they can do this to me, they can do this to anyone,” he said, per The Associated Press. “Regarding the case itself, it was very unfair,” Trump added, emphasizing that it was “rigged” and that “no one has ever seen anything like it” in legal history.
However, a guilty verdict will not stop the presumptive Republican presidential nominee from continuing his fight for the White House in the 2024 presidential election — he’s made that clear. His likely political opponent, President Joe Biden, made statements Friday morning from the White House regarding the guilty verdict and Trump’s actions following the end of the trial.
“Donald Trump was given every opportunity to defend himself,” Biden said, according to CNN. “A state case, not a federal case, was heard by a jury of 12 citizens. Twelve Americans. Twelve people like you, like millions of Americans who served on juries.”
“It’s reckless, it’s dangerous, it’s irresponsible for anyone to say this was rigged just because they don’t like the verdict,” Biden added. “Our justice system has endured for nearly 250 years, and it literally is the cornerstone of America.”
What will Trump’s sentencing look like?
Following the confirmation from all jurors Thursday that they found Trump guilty of all 34 criminal accounts he was accused of in the case brought on by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Judge Juan Merchan announced a sentencing date of July 11. That comes four days before the Republican National Convention when the party is expected to set Trump as its 2024 presidential candidate.
“That’s the big event. They have the balloon drop, the candidate’s family shows up (and) it gets the party excited,” journalist Megyn Kelly said on her podcast Thursday evening. Adding that Merchan is corrupting it by choosing a sentencing date just before the convention begins in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. “There is a decent chance he’s going to be wearing an ankle bracelet.”
Could Trump face prison time? That’s uncertain.
The charges center around a $130,000 payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels that the prosecution argued was used to silence Daniels from speaking out about an alleged sexual encounter she claimed she had with Trump in her testimony during the trial. Bragg accused Trump of falsifying business records to cover up the “hush money” payment as a legal expense. Trump’s defense argued that marking it as a “legal expense” was correct because it was a reimbursement to his then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, who apparently gave the money to Daniels.
Manipulating business records is a class E felony in the state of New York, which is also the lowest-ranking felony. Trump could possibly face as much as four years in prison for each guilty charge. However, it is unknown whether Merchan will sentence the presidential nominee to time behind bars, and Bragg’s office has not commented on whether they will seek a prison sentence.
“Before sentencing, the former president would have to meet with a probation officer for an interview to create a pre-sentencing report for the judge,” per Fox News. “The report, which can take six to eight weeks to complete, would include a short biography of Trump and a recommended sentence. It would be sent to all parties, and the defense would have an opportunity to suggest its own sentencing terms. Merchan would not be bound by the sentencing report.”
Trump and his defense team have made clear that they will appeal the guilty conviction, but that action cannot be taken till after sentencing on July 11.
In Florida, where Trump currently resides, as a convicted felon, he will not be barred from voting for himself in the upcoming election, but there’s nothing in the law that says a convicted felon can’t run for public office or be prevented from taking office if they win.