The New York Times newspaper reported unanimously. With the guilty verdict in New York, the 78-year-old became the first criminally convicted ex-US president in history. Trump will begin his second term as US President on January 20th.
After Trump’s election victory in November, Judge Merchan postponed the announcement of the sentence in the trial indefinitely. The Republican’s lawyers are demanding a complete end to the hush money proceedings and are citing a Supreme Court decision that granted Trump and all presidents in general extensive protection against criminal prosecution. They argue that the jury in New York should not have seen certain evidence because of presidential immunity.
Trump was found guilty in the trial on May 30 of having covered up a hush money payment of $130,000 to former porn actress Stormy Daniels by forging business documents before his 2016 election victory. Daniels later went public and reported a sex affair with the married Trump, which he denied. The prosecution assumes that the payment was intended to improve Trump’s chances of winning the election.
