‘We’ll keep fighting’: Donald Trump, first former president convicted of crimes, calls verdict a disgrace

Former President Donald Trump responded to the guilty verdicts handed down in his New York hush money trial with defiance and condemnation. Speaking to reporters outside the courtroom, he dismissed the charges as unjust, asserting his innocence and vowing to continue fighting.

“This is just a disgrace,” Trump declared, decrying the verdicts and insisting that he and his team had committed no wrongdoing. Despite questions from the press about his presidential campaign, Trump remained resolute, declaring that the fight was far from over.

“We didn’t do anything wrong,” he asserted. “I’m an innocent man.”

Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts stemmed from charges of falsifying business records to conceal reimbursements made to his former attorney, Michael Cohen, for payments to silence porn actress Stormy Daniels regarding an alleged pre-election encounter in 2016.

Amidst the fallout from the trial, Trump’s campaign aides and allies took to social media to express their discontent, with senior adviser Chris LaCivita alleging that the outcome was predetermined.

In the wake of the verdict, the Trump campaign swiftly initiated fundraising efforts, with Trump himself characterizing his situation as that of a “political prisoner” in appeals to potential donors.

Trump remained resolute, emphasizing that the true judgment would come from the American people in the upcoming presidential election against incumbent President Joe Biden.

“The real verdict is going to be Nov. 5, by the people,” Trump affirmed.

As news of the guilty verdicts spread outside the courthouse, anti-Trump demonstrators celebrated while police maintained order between supporters and critics. Despite the tension, some Trump supporters remained largely silent, though a few voiced their discontent with expletives.