On May 30, 2024, a New York jury found former U.S. President Donald Trump guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records he faced stemming from a payment to quiet a porn star, according to reputable news outlets, including The Associated Press.
The trial began in mid-April, with prosecutors building a case that Trump participated in a scheme to hide evidence that could have negatively affected his 2016 presidential campaign. On May 30 — the second day of deliberations — jurors found Trump guilty on every count.
The charges arose from 11 checks, 11 invoices and 12 vouchers connected to the monthly payments from Trump to his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, who made the initial $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
According to reporters in the courtroom, Trump did not react as the verdict was read.
(CNN)
Trump attorney Todd Blanche moved for an acquittal of the charges, which Judge Juan Merchan denied.
What Happens Next?
Merchan set a sentencing date for July 11, 2024.
CBS News previously reported the minimum sentence for falsifying business records in the first degree is zero time served, while the maximum sentence per count is four years. It's possible – or "likely" as The New York Times put it – that Merchan, if he decided on prison time for Trump, would impose the punishment for all counts concurrently and during the same four years.
Dan Horwitz, a defense lawyer formerly associated as an assistant with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, told CBS News someone in Trump's shoes could face no penalty whatsoever, jail time, probation, weekend-only jail time, home detention or a mixture of different options. The reporting also specified the defense team's options:
Trump could seek to stay the execution of any sentence pending appeal, meaning that he wouldn't have to start serving the sentence until an appeals court makes a decision, which is not uncommon in white collar cases in New York federal courts, Horwitz said. The move could delay any jail time until the election — or even beyond.
In any case, though possible imprisonment raises some hurdles for Trump's presidential campaign, his conviction does not restrict him from continuing to run — even if he's behind bars.
Article II of the U.S. Constitution makes no mention of barring convicted felons from running for president. Clause 5 in Section 1 reads, "No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States."