Trump hush money trial: Trump found guilty on all counts in historic case
Trump was found guilty on all 34 felony counts in his hush money trial.
Former President Donald Trump has been found guilty on all 34 felony counts related to a 2016 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. It marks the first time in history that a former U.S. president has been convicted on criminal charges.
Trump last April pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment his then-attorney Michael Cohen made to Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.
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Trump guilty on all 34 counts
Defense argues that McDougal payment wasn't catch and kill
Moving on to the arrangement with Playboy model Karen McDougal, defense attorney Todd Blanche argued there was no catch and kill at all.
"What is clear from what you heard ... this was not a catch and kill either," Blanche said. "Karen McDougal did not want her story published," Blanche said, saying she wanted to kickstart her career. "How is that a catch and kill? It's not."
"To be clear, it was not Mrs. McDougal's intention to publish her story," Blanche said, seeking to undercut prosecutors' theory this was an ongoing conspiracy to influence the election.
“There was never any risk that her allegations would influence the election because she didn’t want her allegations published,” Blanche said.
'Nothing usual about catching and killing,' defense says
Defense attorney Todd Blanche says turned his attention to the three alleged catch-and-kill schemes cited by prosecutors, telling the jury that such arrangements were a normal industry practice and not illegal.
"There is nothing unusual ... about catching and killing," Blanche said.
He started with Dino Sajudin, the Trump Organization doorman who made unfounded claims about a love-child Trump supposedly fathered. Blanche called it "literally a made-up story."
Blanche used National Enquirer publisher David Pecker's initial desire to publish the story to undercut the idea of a conspiracy.
"The government wants you to believe that in Aaugust 2015 there was a super conspiratorial criminal meeting, where Mr. Pecker is going to criminally help Trump, and the first opportunity, he says, Oh no, I'm publishing this," Blanche said.
"What kind of a conspiracy is that?!" Blanche asked.
Defense says National Enquirer followed 'standard procedure'
Defense attorney Todd Blanche highlighted that American Media Inc., the parent company of the National Enquirer, normally helped campaigns with suppressing negative information.
"This is the same thing AMI had been doing for decades," Blanche said. "They had been doing it for President Trump since the 90s."
"Nothing criminal about it -- it's done all the time," Blanche said.
Blanche added that AMI worked with Rahm Emanuel and Arnold Schwarzenegger during their campaigns and that published David Pecker thought his arrangement with Trump was "good business."
"There is zero criminal intent in that 2015 meeting," Cohen said about the Trump Tower meeting where prosecutors argued that the conspiracy originated.
Blanche calls the idea that "sophisticated people" like Trump and Pecker "believed positive stories in the National Enquirer could influence the 2016 election is preposterous."
Blanche highlighted the limited circulation of the National Enquirer -- about 350,000 at the time of the alleged scheme -- prevented the publication from having a meaningful impact on voters.
Defense says there was no 'tight conspiracy'
Defense attorney Todd Blanche sought to undermine a key moment in the state's story of the case -- the White House meeting in February 2017, in which Cohen said he and Trump discussed the plan to repay him.
Blanche showed jurors an email in which Cohen asked a Trump Organization employee to remind him what the agreed-upon monthly sum would be, which was sent less than a week after the meeting.
Blanche said the email demonstrated that there was no discussion of an agreement -- no "tight conspiracy."
"Six days later Cohen doesn't even know how much he's supposed to be paid,' Blanche said.
He also argued against the idea that the parties conspired to win the election.
"It doesn't matter if there was a conspiracy to try and win an election," Blanche said. "By the way, even that -- even if you find that's true -- that's still not enough. It doesn't matter if there was a conspiracy to try to win an election. Every campaign in this country is a conspiracy to promote a candidate."
Biden calls Trump's remarks 'dangerous'
In an address from the White House, President Joe Biden said Donald Trump's criticism of the judicial system in the wake of his criminal conviction yesterday is "reckless" and "dangerous."
"The jury reached an unanimous verdict that found him guilty on all 34 felony counties. Now he'll be given the opportunity, as he should, to appeal that decision, just like everyone else has that opportunity," Biden said. "That's how the American system of justice works, and it's reckless, it's dangerous, it's irresponsible for anyone to say it was rigged just because they don't like the verdict."
"It was a state case, not a federal case, and it was heard by a jury of 12 citizens," said Biden, who made the remarks at the beginning of an address on the status of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
"Our justice system has endured for nearly 250 years, and it really is the cornerstone of America," he said. "Our justice system and justices should be respected. We should never allow anyone to tear it down. That's America. That's who we are, that's who will always be, God willing."
"The American principle that no one is above the law was reaffirmed," Biden said of yesterday's verdict.