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‘The real verdict is going to be November 5’: Trump rails against ‘rigged’ trial
Donald Trump, speaking to the cameras as he left the courtroom, said the “real verdict is going to be November 5 by the people”, referring to the presidential election.
This was a rigged, disgraceful trial. The real verdict is going to be November 5, by the people. They know what happened here, and everybody knows what happened here.
The convicted former US president said he is a “very innocent” man who is “fighting for our country” and “fighting for our constitution”.
“Our whole country is being rigged right now,” Trump claimed, blaming the verdict on the Biden administration who he said wanted to “wound or hurt a political opponent”.
We’ll keep fighting. We’ll fight till the end, and we’ll win because our country’s gone to hell.
“This is long from over,” he concluded before leaving.
Key events
Donald Trump was pictured waving to the crowds and with a raised fist as he returned to Trump Tower after being found guilty of all 34 counts of falsifying business records in a criminal hush-money scheme to influence the outcome of the 2016 election.
Shares in the owner of Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform, Trump Media & Technology Group, slumped after the verdict was announced.
The shares, which trade under the symbol “DJT”, fell about 8% in after-hours trading as news of the verdict emerged, AP reported.
Trump family reacts to verdict
Donald Trump’s children have been posting their reactions to the guilty verdict on social media.
Donald Trump Jr, the former president’s eldest child, said the Democrats had “succeeded in their years long attempt to turn America into a third-world shithole”, adding in a later post that “they’re not even trying to hide the ELECTION INTERFERENCE!!!!”
Guilty on all counts. The Democrats have succeeded in their years long attempt to turn America into a third-world shithole. November 5 is our last chance to save it.
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) May 30, 2024
Eric Trump, Trump’s third child, who has regularly attended his father’s trial, said today “might be remembered as the day Donald J. Trump won the 2024 Presidential Election”.
May 30th, 2024 might be remembered as the day Donald J. Trump won the 2024 Presidential Election.
— Eric Trump (@EricTrump) May 30, 2024
Lara Trump, Eric Trump’s wife and co-chair of the Republican National Committee, posted a photo of her father-in-law with a quote reading:
They’re not coming after me, they’re coming after you, I’m just in the way.
Here’s the full statement from Donald Trump as he spoke to reporters at the Manhattan courthouse after he was convicted of 34 felony counts:
This was a disgrace. This was a rigged trial by a conflicted judge who was corrupt. It’s a rigged trial, a disgrace. They wouldn’t give us a venue change. We were at 5% or 6% in this district, in this area. This was a rigged, disgraceful trial.
The real verdict is going to be November 5th by the people. And they know what happened here, and everybody knows what happened here. You have a Soros-backed DA, and the whole thing, we didn’t do a thing wrong.
I’m a very innocent man, and it’s OK, I’m fighting for our country. I’m fighting for our constitution. Our whole country is being rigged right now.
This was done by the Biden administration in order to wound or hurt an opponent, a political opponent. And I think it’s just a disgrace. And we’ll keep fighting. We’ll fight till the end, and we’ll win because our country has gone to hell.
We don’t have the same country anymore. We have a divided mess. We’re a nation in decline, serious decline, millions and millions of people pouring into our country right now from prisons and from mental institutions, terrorists, and they’re taking over our country. We have a country that’s in big trouble.
But this was a rigged decision right from day one. With a conflicted judge who should have never been allowed to try this case. Never. And we will fight for our constitution. This is long from over. Thank you very much.
“This was a disgrace. This was a rigged trial.”
— Donald Trump reacts and condemns his conviction on all 34 counts in his New York hush money criminal trial. pic.twitter.com/93c1TE31MA
— The Recount (@therecount) May 30, 2024
Vivek Ramaswamy, the former Republican presidential candidate, has claimed Donald Trump is “suffering criminal injustice at the highest level” and said today’s verdict will send Black voters to “flock to Trump in droves”.
Trump led criminal justice reform. Now he’s suffering criminal *injustice* at the highest level. One of surprising effects of this sham verdict: more black voters will flock to Trump in droves & for good reason. I didn’t think the Democrat Party would be so dumb, but here we are.
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) May 30, 2024
Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Georgia far-right US representative, posted an image of an upside down American flag, a symbol associated with Donald Trump’s false claims of election fraud and the January 6 insurrection.
‘The truth always matters’: Michael Cohen reacts to verdict
Michael Cohen, in a statement responding to the verdict reported by multiple outlets, said:
Today is an important day for accountability and the rule of law. While it has been a difficult journey for me and my family, the truth always matters.
He thanked his attorneys, Danya Perry and Joshua Kolb, “for their invaluable guidance and support”.
Cohen, of course, is Donald Trump’s former lawyer and fixer who became the prosecution’s star witness. Cohen was at the center of the criminal case as the man who set up the deal to pay Stormy Daniels $130,000 shortly before the 2016 presidential election to keep her from speaking out about an alleged affair she had with Trump.
Republican lawmakers seen widely as possible vice-presidential running mates to Donald Trump have released statements following the verdict.
JD Vance, the Ohio senator, said the verdict is “a disgrace to the rule of law and our Constitution”.
This decision is a disgrace to the rule of law and our Constitution.
Dems invented a felony to “get Trump,” with the help of a Soros funded prosecutor and a Biden donor Judge, who rigged the entire case to get this outcome.
This isn’t justice, it’s election interference.
— J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) May 30, 2024
Elise Stefanik, chair of the House Republican conference, said she fully supports Trump appealing the verdict in the trial, which she described as a “zombie case illegally brought forward by a corrupt prosecutor doing Joe Biden’s political bidding”. She said:
Today’s verdict shows how corrupt, rigged, and unAmerican the weaponized justice system has become under Joe Biden and Democrats. I fully support President Trump appealing this decision and look forward to a higher New York Court to deliver justice and overturn this verdict
Maya Yang
Nearby, a verbal altercation broke out between a protester wearing a Trump 2024 flag and a protester holding a sign that read: “Trans people are good people.”
The latter yelled: “We need work! We need food! We need to pay rent!” In response, the Trump supporter shouted: “You’re a socialist, that’s why! Get a fucking job!” A flurry of shouts of “Fuck you” were then swiftly exchanged as reporters and onlookers clamored around them.
Meanwhile, a man donning a light-blue shirt and a hat that said “#1 Fan” groaned loudly as he looked up at the sky. “Oh god, I’m going to vomit,” he said exasperatedly. He then put his hands on his knees and bent forward while holding a sign that read “Free Father Teresa”, an apparent reference to Trump likening himself to Mother Teresa earlier this week. As the man heaved, nothing came up.
Shortly after collecting himself, the man, who identified himself as James, stood up and went to join another Trump supporter wearing a Maga hat. Together, they yelled at a crowd of reporters, saying: “He’s a native New Yorker. Don’t forget that. I’m a native New Yorker!”
One reporter said: “He’s a convicted felon!” In response, the man in the light-blue shirt shook his head forcefully, saying: “Not really, not really. It doesn’t count!”
The other Trump supporter chimed in, saying: “There’s a lot of bullshit that happened here.”
Maya Yang
Shortly after 5pm, a crowd of several hundred people outside 100 Centre Street erupted into simultaneous applause, cheers and groans.
Above the park across from the courthouse, a helicopter hovered loudly. Print and broadcast reporters rushed to get into position, their cameras and mics poised in the air. Donald Trump had been found guilty of all 34 counts of fraud.
A heavy sense of shock and relief appeared to hang in the air, with many protesters, counter-protesters and onlookers wearing a look of surprise on their faces.
Some wore red Maga hats. One man waved a sign that read “Guilty” in big, bold letters. In his hand was also an American flag. The man, who identified himself as Bill Christeson, told reporters:
We got him … Hopefully this will be the beginning of the end of this grifter … This is the beginning of the end, folks.
Another man waved a yellow sign that read: “God, strike Trump dead. Judge, free him.” Speaking to reporters, the man, who wore an orange mask and a red Maga hat, said:
New York is a machine state. New York City is a machine city … There’s not a lot of sense in New York City.
A spokesperson from the White House counsel’s office has said:
We respect the rule of law, and have no additional comment.
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