Trump hush money conviction: Biden responds to Trump’s conviction
Trump convicted of all counts Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump walks to speak to the press after he was convicted in his criminal trial at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, on May 30, 2024. A New York jury convicted Donald Trump on all charges in his hush money case on May 30, 2024 in a seismic development barely five months ahead of the election where he seeks to recapture the White House. (Photo by JUSTIN LANE / POOL / AFP) (Photo by JUSTIN LANE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) (JUSTIN LANE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
By Natalie Dreier, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
A crowd of supporters gathered outside of Trump Tower before former President Donald Trump spoke after he was convicted of all 34 counts filed against him in New York’s hush money case.
Update 1:31 p.m. EDT May 31: Hours later, President Joe Biden spoke during a scheduled news conference about the Middle East.
Biden, one of the targets of Trump’s earlier event, said of the former president’s conviction that it shows that “no one is above the law.”
The sitting president said that the jury was made up of citizens who heard the evidence and who made the decision to convict.
“This jury was chosen the same way every jury in America has been chosen. It was a process that Donald Trump’s attorney was part of. The jury heard five weeks of evidence — five weeks — and after careful deliberation, the jury reached a unanimous verdict,” Biden said, according to The New York Times.
He also fired back at Trump’s repeated claims that the administration was behind Trump’s charges and trials, saying, “It’s reckless, it’s dangerous, it’s irresponsible for anyone to say this was rigged just because they don’t like the verdict,” the newspaper reported.
Update 11:40 a.m. EDT May 31: Trump finished his remarks in less than 40 minutes without taking questions, despite it being hyped as an hour-long news conference. In reality, it was more like a campaign speech, speaking on not only his conviction but also immigration and President Joe Biden, CNN reported on air.
He called Biden “the worst president in the history of our country,” “most incompetent” and “most dishonest,” The Associated Press reported.
Update 11:26 a.m. EDT May 31: Despite the gag order against him, Trump brought up a witness, not by name, but seemingly to refer to his former lawyer Michael Cohen, who he characterized as an “effective” lawyer, who ended up being a “sleazebag,” The New York Times reported.
Cohen testified for the prosecution detailing how the hush money payments were made, the same repayments that were marked in the business records as lawyer fees and were at the center of the case.
Trump said that while Cohen was characterized as a “fixer” but Trump said he was a lawyer.
The Times pointed out that Trump’s comments can be taken under consideration when Judge Juan Marcan sentences the former president on July 11. The comments may also violate the gag order issued by Merchan since Trump commented on the star witness.
Trump even highlighted it saying “I’m not allowed to use his name because of the gag order,” The Associated Press reported.
Update 11:22 a.m. EDT May 31: Trump also called the trial “very unfair.”
“As far as the trial itself, it was very unfair. We weren’t allowed to use our election expert under any circumstances. You saw what happened to some of the witnesses that were on our side, they were literally crucified by this man,” he said, according to CNN.
Update 11:15 a.m. EDT May 31: Trump said that he wanted to testify but that legal experts said it was not in his interests to do so. He also said that Judge Juan Merchan permitted testimony on “everything that I was ever involved in.” The New York Times called the statement “a misrepresentation of the scope of the trial.”
“I would have testified, I wanted to testify,” he said, The Washington Post reported. “The theory is you never testify because as soon as you testify, anybody, if it were George Washington, don’t testify because they’ll get you on something that you said slightly wrong and then they sue you for perjury. But I didn’t care about that, I wanted to.”
Trump once again said, “This is a scam, this is a rigged trial.” and that the prosecutors were as “salacious as they could be” but that it was a political, adding that it was a federal case, but on the federal level, it was dropped, but was moved to the state level.
Original report: Trump started his remarks by saying of the conviction, “If they can do this to me, they can do this to anyone.”
His event was being held in the same lobby where he launched his first presidential campaign in 2016, one month short of nine years later, The Associated Press noted.
Trump was scheduled to speak at 11 a.m. despite his still being under a gag order issued by Judge Juan Merchan, CNN reported on air. The order was put in place to bar Trump from speaking about witnesses, jurors and others in the case, Reuters reported.
Trump mentioned the gag order that he said was never issued to a president and that he had to pay “thousands of dollars” in fines and threatened with jail. He frequently called Merchan “highly conflicted.”
Trump convicted of all counts Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump arrives to speak to the press after he was convicted in his criminal trial at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, on May 30, 2024. A panel of 12 New Yorkers were unanimous in their determination that Donald Trump is guilty as charged -- but for the impact on his election prospects, the jury is still out. The Republican billionaire was convicted of all 34 charges in New York on May 30, 2024, and now finds himself bidding for a second presidential term unsure if he'll be spending 2025 in the Oval Office, on probation or in jail. (Photo by Seth Wenig / POOL / AFP) (Photo by SETH WENIG/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) (SETH WENIG/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump convicted of all counts Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump walks to speak to the press after he was convicted in his criminal trial at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, on May 30, 2024. A New York jury convicted Donald Trump on all charges in his hush money case on May 30, 2024 in a seismic development barely five months ahead of the election where he seeks to recapture the White House. (Photo by JUSTIN LANE / POOL / AFP) (Photo by JUSTIN LANE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) (JUSTIN LANE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump guilty on all counts A member of the media holds a phone displaying a news broadcast after the verdict was read at Manhattan criminal court in New York, US, on Thursday, May 30, 2024. A New York jury found Donald Trump guilty of multiple felonies at his hush-money trial, making him the first former US president to be convicted of crimes. Photographer: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Trump guilty on all counts Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump leaves Manhattan Criminal Court in his motorcade after he was convicted in his criminal trial in New York City, on May 30, 2024. A panel of 12 New Yorkers were unanimous in their determination that Donald Trump is guilty as charged -- but for the impact on his election prospects, the jury is still out. The Republican billionaire was convicted of all 34 charges in New York on May 30, 2024, and now finds himself bidding for a second presidential term unsure if he'll be spending 2025 in the Oval Office, on probation or in jail. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP) (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images) (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump guilty on all counts People react after former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was convicted in his criminal trial outside of Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, on May 30, 2024. A panel of 12 New Yorkers were unanimous in their determination that Donald Trump is guilty as charged -- but for the impact on his election prospects, the jury is still out. The Republican billionaire was convicted of all 34 charges in New York on May 30, 2024, and now finds himself bidding for a second presidential term unsure if he'll be spending 2025 in the Oval Office, on probation or in jail. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP) (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images) (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump convicted of all counts Pro-Trump and anti-Trump protesters clash outside the Manhattan Criminal Court Thursday, May 30, 2024, in New York City. (Barry Williams/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images) (New York Daily News/TNS)
Trump convicted of all counts Trump supporters react as a verdict was reached in the criminal trial of former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, in Collect Pond Park across the street from Manhattan Criminal Court on May 30, 2024 in New York City. Jurors return May 30, 2024 to a second day of deliberations in Donald Trump's criminal trial, leaving the Republican presidential candidate and the country waiting for a decision that could upend November's election. (Photo by Kena Betancur / AFP) (Photo by KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images) (KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump convicted of all counts People react after former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was convicted in his criminal trial outside of Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, on May 30, 2024. A New York jury convicted Donald Trump on all charges in his hush money case on May 30, 2024 in a seismic development barely five months ahead of the election where he seeks to recapture the White House. (Photo by Kena Betancur / AFP) (Photo by KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images) (KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump convicted of all counts Trump supporters react as a verdict was reached in the criminal trial of former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, in Collect Pond Park across the street from Manhattan Criminal Court on May 30, 2024 in New York City. Jurors return May 30, 2024 to a second day of deliberations in Donald Trump's criminal trial, leaving the Republican presidential candidate and the country waiting for a decision that could upend November's election. (Photo by Kena Betancur / AFP) (Photo by KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images) (KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump convicted of all counts People react after former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was convicted in his criminal trial outside of Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, on May 30, 2024. A New York jury convicted Donald Trump on all charges in his hush money case on May 30, 2024 in a seismic development barely five months ahead of the election where he seeks to recapture the White House. (Photo by Kena Betancur / AFP) (Photo by KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images) (KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump convicted of all counts A Trump supporter reacts as a verdict was announced in the criminal trial of former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, in Collect Pond Park across the street from Manhattan Criminal Court on May 30, 2024 in New York City. The jury in Donald Trump's hush money trial announced Thursday in a note to the court that it has reached a verdict, indicating that this would be delivered in less than an hour. (Photo by Kena Betancur / AFP) (Photo by KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images) (KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump convicted of all counts People react after former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was convicted in his criminal trial outside of Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, on May 30, 2024. A New York jury convicted Donald Trump on all charges in his hush money case on May 30, 2024 in a seismic development barely five months ahead of the election where he seeks to recapture the White House. (Photo by Kena Betancur / AFP) (Photo by KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images) (KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump convicted of all counts Trump supporters react as a verdict was reached in the criminal trial of former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, in Collect Pond Park across the street from Manhattan Criminal Court on May 30, 2024 in New York City. Jurors return May 30, 2024 to a second day of deliberations in Donald Trump's criminal trial, leaving the Republican presidential candidate and the country waiting for a decision that could upend November's election. (Photo by Kena Betancur / AFP) (Photo by KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images) (KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump Hush Money Spectators outside Manhattan Criminal Court watch for the verdict against former President Donald Trump, Thursday, May 30, 2024, in New York. Donald Trump became the first former president to be convicted of felony crimes as a New York jury found him guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through hush money payments to a porn actor who said the two had sex. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson) (Julia Nikhinson/AP)
Trump Hush Money Former President Donald Trump comments to members of the media after being found guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree at Manhattan Criminal Court, Thursday, May 30, 2024, in New York. Donald Trump became the first former president to be convicted of felony crimes as a New York jury found him guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through hush money payments to a porn actor who said the two had sex. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, Pool) (Seth Wenig/AP)
Trump Hush Money Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court in New York, Thursday, May 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, Pool) (Seth Wenig/AP)
Trump Hush Money A supporter of former President Donald Trump and an anti-Trump protester fight outside Manhattan Criminal Court, Thursday, May 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson) (Julia Nikhinson/AP)
Trump Hush Money In this courtroom sketch, Thursday May 30, 2024, a courtroom stenographer seated in witness box, left, reads back testimony that the jury requested, as the jury, far right takes notes. Jury deliberations in Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial entered their second day on Thursday. (Elizabeth Williams via AP) (Elizabeth Williams/AP)
Trump convicted of all counts Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump returns to the courtroom during his criminal trial at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, on May 30, 2024. Jurors return May 30, 2024 to a second day of deliberations in Donald Trump's criminal trial, leaving the Republican presidential candidate and the country waiting for a decision that could upend November's election. (Photo by JUSTIN LANE / POOL / AFP) (Photo by JUSTIN LANE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) (JUSTIN LANE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump convicted of all counts Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to the media during his criminal trial at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, on May 30, 2024. The jury in Donald Trump's hush money trial announced May 30, 2024 in a note to the court that it has reached a verdict, indicating that this would be delivered in less than an hour. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MICHAEL M. SANTIAGO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) (MICHAEL M. SANTIAGO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump Hush Money A supporter of Donald Trump reacts to the guilty verdict announced against the former President outside Manhattan Criminal Court, Thursday, May 30, 2024, in New York. Donald Trump became the first former president to be convicted of felony crimes as a New York jury found him guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through hush money payments to a porn actor who said the two had sex. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson) (Julia Nikhinson/AP)
Trump Hush Money People react to the guilty verdict announced against former President Donald Trump outside Manhattan Criminal Court, Thursday, May 30, 2024, in New York. Donald Trump became the first former president to be convicted of felony crimes as a New York jury found him guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through hush money payments to a porn actor who said the two had sex. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson) (Julia Nikhinson/AP)