Trump guilty of falsifying business records in hush money trial

(NewsNation) — A jury has found former President Donald Trump guilty of 34 felony charges for falsifying business records in an effort to keep information from voters ahead of the 2016 election.

The jury, made up of seven men and five women, delivered the verdict after nearly 12 hours of deliberation. Sentencing is still to come, where Trump could face fines, probation or prison time. 

The verdict does not disqualify him from continuing to run for the presidency.

The case was the first of four criminal cases against Trump and may be the only one to be decided before the election in November. The case centered around hush money payments made to Playboy model Karen McDougal and adult film star Stormy Daniels who said they had affairs with Trump and were paid to stay quiet ahead of the 2016 election. Trump then allegedly paid former fixer Michael Cohen back for the payments.

Trump was charged with 34 counts related to falsifying business records to conceal damaging information from voters ahead of the election. Cohen previously pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws for orchestrating or making the hush money payments.

During the trial, Trump was repeatedly admonished by Judge Juan Merchan and fined for multiple violations of a gag order that prohibited him from attacking court employees other than the judge and the family members of those involved in the case.

NewsNation has live updates of the verdict online and on-air. Download our free NewsNation app for 24/7 fact-based unbiased coverage.