Adam S. LevyAssociated
Hollywood was quick to react as the jury in Donald Trump´s criminal hush money trial has found the former president guilty of all 34 felony counts against him.
‘We should start referring to him as 34 instead of 45,’ Star Trek alum George Takei said.
Kathy Griffin – whose career took a massive hit in the wake of a 2017 controversy over a photoshoot depicting violence against Trump – said she was crying ‘TEARS OF JOY’ in the wake of the verdict.
‘GUILTY!!!!!’ said director-actor Rob Reiner, while actor John Cusack said, ‘The dumb treacherous criminal is now a convicted felon – 34 times over. Now what will judge do with Trump contempt violations.’
Many more reactions from the celebrity community were expected to come in Thursday amid the news. They delivered their verdict late Thursday afternoon after two days of deliberations that spanned 9 1/2 hours.
Actress Vivica A. Fox said, ‘WOWZERS #Trump GOT’EM!!’
Comedian DL Hughley said, ‘We really have to do something about all this White on White crime ! #TeamDl.’
Actor Billy Baldwin said, ‘Guilty on all counts. E. Jean Carroll … Stormy Daniels … Election interference, espionage and inciting an insurrection coming up.’
Prosecutors accused Trump of falsifying internal business records to cover up hush money payments tied to an alleged scheme to bury stories that might torpedo his 2016 White House bid.
At the heart of the charges were reimbursements paid to Trump´s former lawyer Michael Cohen for a $130,000 hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels in exchange for not going public with her claim about a 2006 sexual encounter with Trump.
Prosecutors say the reimbursements were falsely logged as “legal expenses” to hide the true nature of the transactions.
The charges Trump faces are punishable by up to four years in prison. He has denied all wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty.
The case is the first of Trump´s four indictments to reach trial and is the first-ever criminal case against a former U.S. president.
President Joe Biden´s campaign sought to keep the focus on the November election even as it said Thursday that former President Donald Trump´s criminal conviction showed that ‘that no one is above the law.’
Communications director Michael Tyler said in a statement: ‘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.’
Biden himself has yet to weigh in on the verdict. He is spending the night at his family´s beach house in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, after marking the anniversary of his son Beau´s death earlier Thursday at church in Wilmington.
Biden´s campaign has tried for months to remind Americans of what it sees as the peril of another Trump term in office, rather than the personal jeopardy faced by the former president in court.
‘A second Trump term means chaos, ripping away Americans´ freedoms and fomenting political violence – and the American people will reject it this November,’ Tyler said.
Trump allies released a flurry of statements just minutes after the jury´s decision in Donald Trump’s hush money case was announced.
‘The verdict in New York is a complete travesty that makes a mockery of our system of justice,’ Sen. Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican who is a potential vice president pick, posted on the social platform X.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican who is second in line to the presidency, in a statement called the trial ‘a purely political exercise, not a legal one.’ Johnson added: ‘President Trump will rightfully appeal this absurd verdict-and he WILL WIN!’
Ahead of the jury announcing a verdict, one Republican urged people to respect the legal process.
Larry Hogan, the former governor of Maryland who is now running for the Senate, wrote on X that ‘all leaders-regardless of party-must not pour fuel on the fire with more toxic partisanship. We must reaffirm what has made this nation great: the rule of law.’
Judge Juan M. Merchan has scheduled Donald Trump’s sentencing in his hush money case for July 11, just days before Republicans are set to select him as the 2024 presidential nominee.
Defense lawyers in Donald Trump’s hush money trial moved for an acquittal of the former president after the jury had delivered its verdict.
Defense lawyer Todd Blanche told Judge Juan M. Merchan: ‘We move for a judgment of acquittal.’
‘There´s no basis and no way this jury could have reached a verdict without accepting the testimony of Michael Cohen,’ Blanche said.
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass rebutted the assertion, saying ‘We, of course, disagree with Mr. Blanche´s characterization of Michael Cohen´s testimony.’
Merchan denied the motion.
The former president was accused of falsifying internal Trump Organization records as part of a scheme to bury damaging stories that he feared could hurt his 2016 campaign, particularly as Trump´s reputation was suffering at the time from comments he had made about women .
Jurors had been sent to resume deliberations in Donald Trump´s hush-money trial after rehearing testimony from key witnesses.
The 12 jurors reheard portions of testimony given by former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker as well as Michael Cohen.
The jury deliberated for about 4 1/2 hours Wednesday without reaching a verdict. Before day´s end, they asked to rehear testimony from the tabloid publisher, and Cohen, Trump´s former lawyer and personal fixer. On Thursday morning, the judge responded to a jury request by rereading 30 pages of jury instructions related to how inferences may be drawn from evidence.
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