Trump is guilty on all counts in hush-money case. What happens next?

NEW YORK - A jury in former President Donald Trump’s criminal hush-money trial took just two days to reach a historic verdict:

guilty on all 34 counts.

The outcome is a win for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who was the first prosecutor in the country to file criminal charges against the former president.

The case is the only one of four criminal trials Trump faces that is likely to wrap up before the November presidential election, in which he is the presumptive Republican nominee. Here’s a rundown of what’s at stake and could happen next.  

What was Trump convicted of?

He was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records for payments made to his former lawyer, Mr Michael Cohen. 

Prosecutors said Trump directed Mr Cohen to pay US$130,000 (S$178,000) to adult-film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election to stop her from going public with a story about a sexual encounter she said they had. The prosecution argued that Trump reimbursed Mr Cohen for the hush-money scheme with several payments recorded as “legal services” in company books. Trump’s team claimed the money was actually for legal work. 

What happens now that Trump is convicted? 

The next step will be for Judge Juan Merchan to sentence him, which is scheduled for July 11. That’s just days before the July 15 Republican National Convention, where the party is set to officially select Trump as its presidential nominee for the Nov. 5 election. Mr Merchan said Trump could remain free until his sentencing.

A typical defendant convicted of a felony charge is sentenced to serve some prison time, but there is nothing in the law that requires it. Merchan could instead sentence Trump to probation, especially if he decides that leniency is warranted because the former president is 77 years old and a first-time offender with no criminal record. Trump could also be ordered to pay some kind of financial penalty.

Still, Mr Merchan has made it clear that he takes white-collar crime seriously and already warned Trump he could put him behind bars for repeatedly violating a gag order. He also acknowledged the unique security requirements of imprisoning a former president under 24-hour Secret Service protection. 

How long could Trump go to jail? 

Each of the counts is a Class E felony, which carries a prison term from 1 1/3 years to four years. Since Trump was found guilty on more than one count, Merchan could impose a concurrent sentence, meaning the former president would serve all of his prison time simultaneously. He could also order Trump to serve the counts one after the other, but legal experts have said that isn’t likely.

Can Trump appeal?

Yes, and he immediately vowed to contest the verdict, saying the fight was “long from over”. 

The first step would be a Manhattan appeals court. Eventually an appeal could make its way to New York’s Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court in Albany; Trump could eventually ask the US Supreme Court to weigh in.

It would be up to Merchan to decide whether to jail Trump or allow him to remain free while he appeals. While criminal defendants in New York state can typically be jailed while the appeals process plays out, that would not necessarily apply to Trump because he’s charged with a non-violent, white-collar crime.

Where might Trump serve time? 

It’s not clear where Trump would serve any jail sentence, though the US Secret Service, which protects current or former presidents, has met with federal, state and city officials to discuss the possibility of Trump behind bars.

If Trump is sentenced to a year or less in prison, he could possibly serve it at New York’s Rikers Island, which includes seven jails. Allen Weisselberg, 76, the former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization who recently pleaded guilty to perjury, is completing a five-month term in a medical unit at the complex.

Does Trump’s conviction mean he can’t run for re-election?

Trump can still run for office. The US Constitution sets few eligibility requirements for the position, including no limitations based on character or criminal record.

How could the verdict affect the 2024 election?

It’s not clear how his conviction might affect the outcome of the election. But if Trump wins, the US would for the first time have a convicted felon serving as its head of state – a fact that is not uncommon throughout the rest of the world. Trump has compared himself to the late South African leader Nelson Mandela, who was imprisoned for 27 years for opposing the apartheid regime.

Can Trump pardon himself if re-elected? 

Not in this case because the Manhattan case was brought by state and not federal prosecutors. (That’s also true in the Fulton County, Georgia case, which, like New York, is a state prosecution.) But in the two federal cases, Trump could theoretically direct the Justice Department to drop the cases if reelected. BLOOMBERG