Former United States (U.S.) President Donald Trump faces sentencing on July 11.
He was found guilty of falsifying business records to commit election fraud and convicted on Thursday.
Trump became the first former U.S. President to be convicted of criminal charges.
The New York jury unanimously found him guilty on all 34-count charge slammed on him.
The 12-member panel – seven men and five women –made its decision after five weeks of evidence from 22 witnesses on the stand.
Reacting to the verdict, Trump denounced the conviction, branding it a “disgrace”. He professed his innocence.
He went further to decry the trial as “rigged” and cast doubt on the impartiality of the presiding judge.
The charges leveled against Trump trace back to his involvement in a clandestine scheme to conceal “hush money” payments, orchestrated to silence Stormy Daniels, a prominent pornographic actress, in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election.
Daniels had publicly alleged a sexual liaison with Trump, a revelation that posed a significant threat to his electoral prospects.
In a bid to suppress Daniels’ allegations, Trump directed his personal lawyer to facilitate a payment of $130,000 (£102,000) to ensure her silence, thereby effectively burying the potentially damaging story until after the election.
During the trial, convened in Manhattan Criminal Court, detailed scrutiny was directed towards Trump’s complicity in the scheme, including his interactions with David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer, who operated a scheme known as “catch and kill” to quash negative publicity about Trump.
Adding to the mounting legal pressure, a video tape from the television show “Access Hollywood” surfaced, capturing Trump making lewd comments about groping women. The revelation triggered what was described in court as a “crisis” within Trump’s campaign.
Key testimony came from Michael Cohen, Trump’s lawyer and fixer, who revealed Trump’s direct involvement in orchestrating the payment to Daniels.
Cohen testified that Trump considered the situation a “disaster” for his campaign and directed him to handle the matter.
“This is a disaster, a total disaster. Women are going to hate me. This is really a disaster. Women will hate me. Guys, they think it’s cool. But this is going to be a disaster for the campaign.”
While paying hush money itself isn’t illegal, the falsification of business records to conceal the payments and influence the election outcome constituted criminal behavior, according to the prosecution.
Trump’s subsequent reimbursement of Cohen, disguised as legal expenses, further compounded the charges.
The Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Mike Johnson, said: “Today is a shameful day in American history.”
