Trump found guilty in 'hush money' case

A New York jury has found Donald Trump guilty of all 34 counts in his "hush money" case.
The first criminal trial against a former US president ended with Trump, 77, pleading guilty to each of 34 counts of falsifying business documents to hide a payment designed to keep porn star Stormy Daniels from going public about her sexual relationship with the Republican.
Trump once again called the trial "rigged" and said the real verdict will come in the November election.
“It was a rigged, disgraceful process. The real verdict will be pronounced on November 5 by the people. And they know what happened here, and everybody knows what happened here," Trump said as he left court.
The verdict throws the US into an unfamiliar political situation.
However, it does not prevent Trump from continuing to be a presidential candidate. That won't change even in the unlikely scenario that Judge Juan Mercan eventually sentences the Republican to prison.
Merchan will speak on July 11 - just before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where Trump must receive the party's official nomination to face Joe Biden in November.
Biden's campaign issued a statement saying the trial showed that "no one is above the law" and that the only chance to prevent Trump from returning to the Oval Office was "through a vote."
“Donald Trump has always mistakenly believed that he would never face the consequences of breaking the law for personal gain. But today's verdict does not change the fact that the American people are faced with a simple reality. There's still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: by voting. Convicted felon or not, Trump will be the Republican nominee for president," said Michael Tyler, director of communications for the Biden 2024 campaign.
The 12-member jury deliberated for more than 11 hours over two days before announcing the unanimous verdict within minutes.
Judge Merchan thanked the jurors for tackling the "difficult and stressful task".
Their identities were kept secret throughout the proceedings, a rare practice more common in cases involving the Mafia or other violent defendants./BGNES