Donald Trump Says He Will Appeal Court Ruling in 'Hush Money' Case

Donald Trump, reacting to a jury's ruling from the Manhattan Criminal Court that will mark him as the 'first convicted president' in U.S. history, announced that he will appeal the decision. He must wait until July 11 for the final ruling from the judge in the case known as 'hush money.' According to Reuters, he reiterated his objection to the criminal court's ruling during a speech on Friday, June 1, at the Trump Tower lobby in Manhattan, where he announced his initial presidential candidacy in 2015. Mr. Trump previously called the ruling 'a disgrace' and referred to his trial as 'a fake trial by a hostile and corrupt judge.' In response to these statements, U.S. President Joe Biden deemed Trump's questioning of criminal judgments and claims of trial fraud as 'irresponsible and dangerous.' Former President Donald Trump claimed in his Friday speech that his trial was an attempt to weaken him in his return to the White House and warned that this indicates no American is safe from politically motivated legal prosecution. He spoke for 33 minutes without a prepared text and stated, 'If they [the criminal court] can do this to me, then they can do it to anyone.' He did not answer any questions from reporters. The New York court found Donald Trump guilty in the 'hush money' case. Twelve jurors in Manhattan, New York, after two days of deliberation and reviewing the evidence, found the former president guilty on all 34 counts. The main issue in this trial is the indictment from the New York prosecutor, which accuses Mr. Trump of paying $130,000 to Stormy Daniels, a porn star, shortly before the 2016 presidential election to prevent the disclosure of his sexual relationship with her. Mr. Trump is charged with 34 counts of misdemeanors for manipulating and falsifying business documents, which the prosecution claims was aimed at concealing the 'hush money' payment. After the ruling was announced, Todd Blanche, Trump's attorney in the 'hush money' case, emphasized that his client would appeal the verdict. Joe Biden's campaign team issued a statement just minutes after the jury's verdict, stating, 'Donald Trump has always mistakenly thought he would never face the consequences of breaking the law for his personal gain,' while asserting that 'no one is above the law.' The judge has set the date for the final ruling session for Donald Trump on July 11. This date is three days before the Republican Party's final meeting to officially announce Trump's candidacy for the U.S. presidential election. American constitutional experts believe that Trump's conviction in this case does not disqualify him from running for the presidency or holding the office if he wins the election.