Former US President Donald Trump has announced his intention to challenge the guilty verdict that marked him as the first US president convicted of a crime. However, he indicated that he would wait until after his sentencing on July 11 to pursue this appeal. Speaking at Trump Tower in Manhattan, where he launched his initial presidential campaign in 2015, Trump reiterated his allegations that the trial was a “rigged” attempt to hobble his comeback White House bid and warned that it showed no American was safe from politically motivated prosecution.
“If they can do this to me, they can do this to anyone,” Trump, 77, said in an unscripted 33-minute speech. Applauded by supporters, Trump, the Republican candidate in the 2024 election, took no questions from reporters.
Trump will have 30 days from the date of his July 11 sentencing to file a notice of appeal. Despite this conviction, Trump confronts three other criminal prosecutions, including two concerning his efforts to challenge his defeat to Biden in the 2020 election. However, the New York verdict may be the sole one delivered before Americans head to the polls, as legal complications have delayed the other cases.
Throughout, Trump maintains his innocence, denouncing all four cases as “politically driven”. Meanwhile, reported, citing a source familiar with his campaign’s inner workings, that the verdict was expected to prompt him to intensify deliberations on picking a woman as his vice presidential running mate.
Following a trial that included explicit testimony from Stormy Daniels regarding an alleged 2006 sexual encounter with Trump while he was married to Melania, the jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business documents. Trump adamantly denies any sexual involvement with Daniels.
In New York, falsifying business documents is typically considered a misdemeanour. However, prosecutors from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office escalated the charges to a felony, asserting that Trump was concealing an unlawful campaign contribution.
President Joe Biden emphasized the dangers of questioning the integrity of the guilty verdict in his first public remarks since Trump’s conviction. Biden, a Democrat, strongly criticized Trump and other Republicans who have voiced objections to the verdict.
Biden emphasized the importance of respecting the justice system and criticized Trump and his supporters for attempting to tear it down with false allegations. “It’s reckless, it’s dangerous, it’s irresponsible for anyone to say this was rigged just because they don’t like the verdict,” Biden said.
