Donald Trump says he will appeal his guilty verdict as he lashed out again with falsehoods in a speech at Trump Tower, after becoming the first US president convicted of a crime.
In a rambling and disjointed address to media, the Republican candidate called the judge a “tyrant,” slammed his “nasty” gag order and repeated his claim that the trial was “rigged” and a “scam”.
Trump again tried to blame President Joe Biden and claimed the trial was an attempt to hobble his comeback to the White House.
“This is all done by Biden and his people,” said Trump. “This is done by Washington. No one has ever seen anything like this.”
Applauded by supporters, the former president took no questions from reporters as he spoke for about 40 minutes in the tower lobby, against a backdrop of American flags.
The Trump camp said that in the hours after his historic conviction, the campaign received a record daily amount in donations from supporters.
That figure was reported at $US34.8 million in six hours.
‘Spiralling’ and ‘unhinged’
Biden’s campaign responded to Trump’s speech, which was peppered with mistruths and distortions, by calling him “desperate” and “unhinged”.
Biden’s campaign spokesperson, Michael Tyler, said in a statement that the only thing Trump cared about was himself.
“America just witnessed a confused, desperate, and defeated Donald Trump ramble about his own personal grievances and lie about the American justice system, leaving anyone watching with one obvious conclusion: This man cannot be president of the United States,” he said.
“Unhinged by his 2020 election loss and spiralling from his criminal convictions, Trump is consumed by his own thirst for revenge and retribution.”
Earlier, the US president slammed Trump’s response to the trial as “dangerous and irresponsible”.
Biden said the unanimous guilty verdict had been decided by a jury comprising ordinary Americans in a fair process.
“It’s reckless, it’s dangerous, It’s irresponsible for anyone to say this was rigged just because they don’t like the verdict,” said Biden.
“Our justice system has endured for nearly 250 years, and it literally is the cornerstone of America.
“The justice system should be respected. And we should never let never allow anyone to tear it down.”
Uncharted territory
Trump’s guilty verdict catapults the United States into unexplored territory ahead of the November 5 vote, when Trump, 77, will try to win back the White House from Democratic President Joe Biden, 81.
The charge he was convicted of, falsifying business records, carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison.
Others convicted of that crime often receive shorter sentences, fines or probation.
But Trump’s public criticism of jurors and witnesses during the trial, which prompted Justice Juan Merchan to impose a $US10,000 ($15,000) fine, could push the judge to impose a tougher penalty, said Rebecca Roiphe, a former New York prosecutor.
Any sentence would likely be suspended until the appeals process plays out.
A close ally, House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, predicted the US Supreme Court would eventually overturn the verdict.
“I think they’ll set this straight but it’s going to take a while,” he said on Fox News.
Incarceration would not prevent Trump from campaigning, or taking office if he were to win.
Trump’s July 11 sentencing comes just days before the Republican Party is due to formally nominate him as its presidential candidate at its convention in Milwaukee.
Trump was found guilty of 34 criminal counts of falsifying documents to cover up a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels to illegally influence the 2016 election outcome.
Trump that year defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Trump still faces three other criminal prosecutions – two for his efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat – but the New York verdict could be the only one handed down before the US election as the other cases have been tied up in legal wrangling.
Trump has pleaded not guilty in all four cases, which he says are politically motivated.
A source familiar with his campaign’s inner workings said the verdict was expected to prompt him to intensify deliberations on picking a woman as his vice presidential running mate.
Democratic politicians said the verdict showed nobody was above the law while many Republicans embraced Trump’s assertions the prosecutions were a politically motivated attempt to prevent his return to power.
Trump’s campaign said it raised $US35 million from small donors after the verdict, nearly double its previous daily record.
Several major Republican donors said they would continue to donate to Trump’s campaign despite the conviction.
Biden urged the public to vote against Trump in November.
“There’s only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: At the ballot box,” he said on social media after the verdict.
The jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business documents after a trial that featured explicit testimony from Daniels about a sexual encounter she says she had with Trump in 2006 while he was married to his current wife Melania.
Trump denies ever having sex with Daniels.
Trump’s former fixer and lawyer Michael Cohen testified that Trump approved a $US130,000 hush money payment to Daniels in the final weeks of the 2016 election, when he faced multiple accusations of sexual misbehaviour.
Cohen testified that he handled the payment and that Trump approved a plan to reimburse him through monthly payments disguised as legal work.
Falsifying business documents is normally a misdemeanour in New York but prosecutors in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office elevated the case to a felony on grounds that Trump was concealing an illegal campaign contribution.
-with AAP
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