By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Political Writer
Tmcqueen@afro.com
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is the first former president to be tried and convicted of criminal charges. On May 30, Trump was found guilty of 34 charges related to his attempt to cover up an alleged affair by paying an adult film star less than two weeks before the 2016 presidential election. Photo credit: AP Photo / Curtis Means, Pool Photo
Former U.S. President Donald Trump made history in April 2023, becoming the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges. Now, with the 2024 presidential election mere months away, Trump becomes the first U.S. president to be convicted in a criminal court case.
“Donald Trump’s unanimous conviction on 34 counts proves that our system of justice is not a respecter of position, power, or privilege,” U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.-07) told the AFRO. “This case, while historic in nature, proves that America’s system of equal justice under law remains steadfast. Even if it is the former president of the United States on trial, this case proves that no one is above the law.”
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg spearheaded the efforts to get Trump into a courtroom facing criminal charges. Trump was accused of falsifying documents to conceal a payment to Stormy Daniels, an adult film star, in order to keep her silent about an alleged affair 12 days before the 2016 election.
Bragg alleged that the former president used his company, American Media Inc. (AMI), and a team of lawyers to send $130,000 to Michael Cohen, a former attorney, to pay Daniels.
The indictment claims Trump, after the 2016 election, reimbursed Cohen for the payment through monthly checks via the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, a legal entity that held the Trump Organization’s assets after Trump became president, and from Trump’s personal bank account.
Allegedly, each check was disguised as a legal services payment.
The conviction came after jurors deliberated on two separate days.
The Biden-Harris campaign released a statement via X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, shortly after the announcement of the conviction.
“In New York today, we saw that no one is above the law,” said the Biden-Harris campaign in a statement released on the conviction. “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.”
The Biden-Harris campaign emphasized the likelihood that Trump will move forward as the Republican nominee for president and why people should vote in November.
“The threat Trump poses to our democracy has never been greater. He is running an increasingly unhinged campaign of revenge and retribution,” read the statement. “A second Trump term means chaos, ripping away Americans’ freedoms and fomenting political violence – and the American people will reject it this November.”
Trump also spoke to the upcoming November election in his response to the conviction on his campaign website.
“The real verdict is going to be Nov. 5 –by the people. They know what happened here,” said Trump, in a May 30 statement.
The convicted former president said that he will “fight to the end” and claimed the “country has gone to hell.”
When asked for comment, White House Counsel’s Office Spokesperson, Ian Sams, in a separate statement to the media said “We respect the rule of law, and have no additional comment.”
According to the Associated Press, the judge set Trump’s sentencing for July 11.
Tashi McQueen is a Report For America corps member.
