Biden campaign on Trump guilty verdict: ‘No one is above the law’
NEW YORK - The Biden-Harris campaign has released a statement, after former President Donald Trump was found guilty of falsifying business records in an attempt to bury stories about extramarital affairs that arose during his 2016 presidential campaign.
Jurors convicted Trump on all 34 counts after deliberating for 9.5 hours. As the verdict was read, he sat stone-faced in court, looking down.
"In New York today, we saw that no one is above the law," the statement said.
"Donald Trump has always mistakenly believed he would never face consequences for breaking the law for his own personal gain. But today’s verdict does not change the fact that the American people face a simple reality. There is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: at the ballot box. Convicted felon or not, Trump will be the Republican nominee for president."
Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump walks to speak to the press after he was convicted in his criminal trial at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, on May 30, 2024. (Photo by STEVEN HIRSCH/POOL/AFP via Getty
The statement continued: "The threat Trump poses to our democracy has never been greater. He is running an increasingly unhinged campaign of revenge and retribution, pledging to be a dictator ‘on day one’ and calling for our Constitution to be ‘terminated’ so he can regain and keep power. A second Trump term means chaos, ripping away Americans’ freedoms and fomenting political violence – and the American people will reject it this November."
Ian Sams, the White House Counsel’s Office spokesperson also said in a statement, "We respect the rule of law, and have no additional comment."
Trump responds to guilty verdict
Trump responded to the verdict stating "This was a disgrace. This was a rigged trial," he says. "This was a rigged disgraceful trial," per a pool reporter at the courthouse.
Judge Juan Merchan, who oversaw the case, has set Trump's sentencing for July 11, just days before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
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Jurors, over the course of a month, heard testimony about sex and bookkeeping, tabloid journalism and presidential politics. Their task was to decide whether prosecutors, who charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records, proved that he not only falsified those records, but that he did so with intent to commit or conceal another crime.
This story was reported from Los Angeles.