Trump found guilty on all charges in hush money trial

A jury in New York City on Thursday found former U.S. President Donald Trump guilty on all charges in a hush money case.

Trump, 77, was found guilty of all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in a bid to hide a hush money payment of $130,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, shortly before the presidential election.

Trump became the first former president in U.S. history to be convicted of a crime.

Justice Juan Merchan set sentencing for July 11, just days before the Republican Party is scheduled to formally nominate Trump for president ahead of the November 5 election.

Trump has denied wrongdoing and an attorney representing him said they would appeal as quickly as possible. The former president, who was released without bail, initially sat still in the drab Manhattan courtroom, shoulders dipping.

"This was a disgrace," Trump told reporters afterward as he proclaimed his innocence and repeated his complaints that the trial had been rigged against him.

An appeal could take months to complete.

The trial featured lengthy testimony from the adult performer, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, 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 were part of a broader crime to prevent voters from knowing about Trump's behavior.

Trump's defense attorneys had countered that "trying to influence an election" was simply "democracy" and that the former president did nothing wrong.

The crime of falsifying business documents carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison, though those convicted often receive shorter sentences, fines or probation. Incarceration would not legally prevent him from campaigning or taking office if he were to win.

He will not be jailed ahead of sentencing.

The verdict plunges the United States into unexplored territory ahead of the November election, when Trump will try to win back the White House from Democratic President Joe Biden.

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."

Should Trump 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.

Opinion polls show Trump and Biden, 81, locked in a tight race, and Reuters/Ipsos polling has found that a guilty verdict could cost Trump some support among independent and Republican voters.

The case had been widely regarded as the least consequential of the four criminal prosecutions Trump faces. However, the verdict looms large now, as it is likely to be the only one before the election, with others delayed by procedural challenges.

(With input from agencies)