Trump trial: Biden calls Trump's remarks 'dangerous'
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."
Verdict breakdown by count
Former President Trump was convicted on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in order to hide a hush money payment to boost his prospects in the 2016 election. Here are each of the records he was charged with falsifying, and the verdict for each.
1) An invoice from Michael Cohen dated Feb. 14, 2017 - GUILTY
2) An entry in the Detail General Ledger for the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust on or about Feb. 14, 2017 - GUILTY
3) An entry in the Detail General Ledger for the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust on or about Feb. 14, 2017 - GUILTY
4) A Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust Account check and check stub dated Feb. 14, 2017 - GUILTY
5) An invoice from Michael Cohen dated Feb. 16, 2017 and transmitted on or about March 16, 2017 - GUILTY
6) An entry in the Detail General Ledger for the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust on or about March 17, 2017 - GUILTY
7) A Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust Account check and check stub dated March 17, 2017 - GUILTY
8) An invoice from Michael Cohen dated April 13, 2017 - GUILTY
9) An entry in the Detail General Ledger for Donald J. Trump on or about June 19, 2017 - GUILTY
10) A Donald J. Trump account check and check stub dated June 19, 2017 - GUILTY
11) An invoice from Michael Cohen dated May 22, 2017 - GUILTY
12) An entry in the Detail General Ledger for Donald J. Trump on or about May 22, 2017 - GUILTY
13) A Donald J. Trump account check and check stub dated May 23, 2017 - GUILTY
14) An invoice from Michael Cohen dated June 16, 2017 - GUILTY
15) An entry in the Detail General Ledger for Donald J. Trump on or about June 19, 2017 - GUILTY
16) A Donald J. Trump account check and check stub dated June 19, 2017 - GUILTY
17) An invoice from Michael Cohen dated July 11, 2017 - GUILTY
18) An entry in the Detail General Ledger for Donald J. Trump on or about July 11, 2017 - GUILTY
19) A Donald J. Trump account check and check stub dated July 11, 2017 - GUILTY
20) An invoice from Michael Cohen dated Aug. 1, 2017 - GUILTY
21) An entry in the Detail General Ledger for Donald J. Trump on or about Aug. 1, 2017 - GUILTY
22) A Donald J. Trump account check and check stub dated Aug. 1, 2017 - GUILTY
23) An invoice from Michael Cohen dated Sept. 11, 2017 - GUILTY
24) An entry in the Detail General Ledger for Donald J. Trump on or about Sept. 11, 2017 - GUILTY
25) A Donald J. Trump account check and check stub dated Sept. 12, 2017 - GUILTY
26) An invoice from Michael Cohen dated Oct. 18, 2017 - GUILTY
27) An entry in the Detail General Ledger for Donald J. Trump on or about Oct. 18, 2017 - GUILTY
28) A Donald J. Trump account check and check stub dated Oct. 18, 2017 - GUILTY
29) An invoice from Michael Cohen dated Nov. 20, 2017 - GUILTY
30) An entry in the Detail General Ledger for Donald J. Trump on or about Nov. 20, 2017 - GUILTY
31) A Donald J. Trump account check and check stub dated Nov. 21, 2017 - GUILTY
32) An invoice from Michael Cohen dated Dec. 1, 2017 - GUILTY
33) An entry in the Detail General Ledger for Donald J. Trump on or about Dec. 1, 2017 - GUILTY
34) A Donald J. Trump account check and check stub dated Dec. 5, 2017 - GUILTY