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Guilty As Charged! Trump Convicted in Hush-Money Case, Awaits Sentencing
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A New York jury convicted Donald Trump on all charges in his hush-money case on Thursday in a seismic development barely five months ahead of the election where he seeks to recapture the White House.
The verdict makes Trump the first criminally convicted former US president but does not prevent him from campaigning for another term.
Addressing reporters outside minutes later, though, he branded the result a “disgrace” and “rigged,” vowing that the “real verdict” would come from voters in the November 5 presidential election.
The conviction thrusts the United States into uncharted political territory.
However, it does not bar Trump from his continuing his White House run, even in the unlikely event that Judge Juan Merchan sentences him to prison.
Sentencing was set for July 11 – right before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where Trump is due to receive the party’s formal nomination to face Democratic President Joe Biden in the election.
Biden’s campaign issued a statement saying that the trial showed “no one is above the law.” It added that “the threat Trump poses to our democracy has never been greater.”
The 12-member jury deliberated for more than 11 hours over two days before announcing the unanimous conclusion within a matter of minutes.
Merchan thanked the jurors for completing the “difficult and stressful task.”
Their identities had been kept secret throughout proceedings, a rare practice more often seen in cases involving mafia or other violent defendants.
– Election conspiracy –
Trump was convicted of falsifying business records to reimburse his lawyer, Michael Cohen, for a $130,000 payment to Daniels on the eve of the 2016 election, when her claim to have had sex with him could have proved fatal to his campaign.
The trial featured lengthy testimony from the adult performer, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford and who described to the court in graphic detail what she says was a 2006 sexual encounter with the married Trump.
Prosecutors successfully laid out a case alleging that the hush money and the illegal covering up of the payment was part of a broader crime to prevent voters from knowing about Trump’s behaviour.
Trump’s defence attorneys had countered that “trying to influence an election” was simply “democracy” and that the former president did nothing wrong.
– Campaigning in courthouse –
The trial has distracted Trump from his campaign to unseat Biden.
However, he milked the media attention throughout, with daily speeches in front of the cameras outside the courtroom in which he complained about being a political victim.
Yet after teasing the prospect for weeks, Trump — who denied ever having sex with Daniels at a 2006 celebrity golf tournament — opted not to testify.
Keith Gaddie, a political analyst and professor at Texas Christian University, said the political impact of the shocking events has yet to be determined.
“It probably doesn’t move a lot of votes, but in particular states with particular swing votes, it could matter around the margins. So in particularly tight races, it can tip things back from one direction to the other,” she said.
The Republican, who made his name as a brash real estate mogul before a stunning ascent to the nation’s highest office in the 2016 election, now faces prison or, more likely, probation.
In theory, he could face up to four years in jail for each count of falsifying business records but legal experts said as a first-time offender he is unlikely to go behind bars.
An appeal could take months to complete.
Should he win the presidency he will not be able to pardon himself, given that the case was not brought by the federal government but by the state of New York, where only the governor could clear his name.
Trump also faces federal and state charges of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election won by Biden, and for hoarding secret documents after leaving the White House.
AFP
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has pledged to restore fuel subsidy, improve security and create employment if elected president in 2027.
Atiku made the pledge on Thursday during a campaign rally in Kebbi State, where he called on voters to support the ADC, describing it as the only party committed to addressing the three issues.
“The people of Kebbi State, let me ask you a few questions. Do you want the return of subsidy? Do you want security? Do you want employment? Therefore you have no option other than the ADC. ADC is the only political party that is committed to these three objectives and more to bring about prosperity, unity and peace to the people of our country,” he said.
The former Vice President and his running mate also criticised some projects being presented as achievements of the President Bola Tinubu administration, describing them as legacies of the late President Muhammadu Buhari.
Supporters of the ADC gathered at the party’s secretariat in Birnin Kebbi to welcome Atiku and other party chieftains ahead of the rally.
Speaking at the event, the Director-General of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Austin Akobundu, commended party faithful for what he described as their resistance to intimidation by the state government.
Akobundu said the 2027 general elections would be a referendum between suffering Nigerians and the Federal Government under President Tinubu.
The ADC National Chairman, in his remarks, described the party as a moving train that no amount of intimidation could stop.
He called on the people of Kebbi State to vote for Atiku as president, Abubakar Malami as governor and other ADC candidates in the 2027 general elections.
The rally ended with the ADC National Chairman formally presenting the party’s flag to Malami as the party’s governorship candidate for the 2027 election.
The campaign in Kebbi came hours after a Federal High Court in Abuja nullified the leadership of the Senator David Mark-led ADC and voided the actions taken by the party’s executives, including the process that produced Atiku as its presidential candidate.
Justice Peter Lifu delivered the judgment in a suit filed by Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former National Deputy Chairman of the party, who challenged the emergence of the Mark-led leadership.
Atiku rejected the ruling, describing it as an attempt to weaken his political support and frustrate his campaign. He said he would challenge the judgment at the Court of Appeal.
The ADC also rejected the decision, accusing the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of attempting to cripple the opposition and vowing to challenge the judgment through all available judicial processes.
The Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has condemned Thursday’s court judgment purporting to remove Senator David Mark’s leadership of the party, describing it as a calculated attempt to weaken the ADC and frustrate his candidacy.
In a statement issued by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Atiku said the timing of the judgment was telling. It came barely a day after a mammoth crowd turned out in Sokoto to welcome him and attend the launch of the ADC campaign.
“The people of Sokoto came out in their thousands because they are hungry for change and believe in our promise to make life affordable again. What we witnessed in Sokoto is only the beginning. The people of Kebbi will have their say, and so will Nigerians across the country as our campaign moves forward.
“My roots are in Northern Nigeria, but my candidacy belongs to all Nigerians. There is a difference between being from the North and being a candidate only for the North. Hunger and hardship do not respect regional boundaries. Nigerians across the country are suffering under this government, and they deserve a leader with a credible plan to make life affordable again.
“The timing of this judgment is no coincidence. It is part of a strategy to weaken my support in the North and frustrate a campaign whose message is resonating across the country. But the ruling party’s greatest miscalculation is to assume that my support ends in the North. What we saw in Sokoto, what we will see in Kebbi and across the country, is the strength of a national movement.”
Atiku said the judgment also raises serious legal concerns.
“Justice Musa Liman of the same Federal High Court had already dismissed the challenge to the David Mark-led leadership in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1637/2025. The court upheld the defendants’ objections on jurisdiction, standing and the failure to exhaust internal party remedies, and resolved the substantive issues in their favour. Why, after that judgment, was another case filed to reopen the same dispute? This is a calculated attempt to circumvent a subsisting judgment. We will challenge this judicial manoeuvre at the Court of Appeal.”
Atiku urged ADC supporters to remain calm and law-abiding and not to let the judgment weaken the momentum generated in Sokoto. The campaign train is already in Kebbi and will continue across the country.
“Our journey to rescue Nigeria from the hardship imposed by the APC government is a long one. Our Affordable Life campaign will continue because Nigerians deserve relief from this crushing cost-of-living crisis. We urge our supporters to remain resolute, take our message from house to house and door to door, and stay peaceful and focused. There is no shaking.”
President Bola Tinubu has requested the Senate to approve the implementation of an external borrowing plan of $7.7 billion.
At an exchange rate of N1,400 to the dollar, the money amounts to about N10.79 trillion
The President said the funds are to part-finance the N20.2 trillion budget deficit.
The new request, according to the Senate President, replaces the $20.52 billion loan request presented last week.
The request has been referred to the Committee on Local and Foreign Debts for further legislative action.
