Donald Trump rails against ‘disgrace’ verdict - and rages the US ‘has gone to hell... is a nation in decline’

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox

Get our free Inside Washington email

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy

Donald Trump called the New York criminal trial “rigged” and “a disgrace” while blasting the US moments after a jury made him a convicted felon.

“I am a very innocent man,” Trump said in the hallway of the courthouse.

The former president gave a brief statement outside of the courtroom, railing against the judge and the Manhattan District Attorney while also targeting the Biden administration. Trump repeated many of the same accusations and excuses he has voiced throughout the six-week-long trial – that he is innocent, the trial is rigged, the judge was “conflicted” and more.

“We have a country that’s in big trouble, but this was a rigged decision right from day one, with a conflicted judge who should have never been allowed to try this case,” Trump said.

The convicted former president claimed the “real verdict” would come in November when the country votes for the next president.

“And we’ll keep fighting we’ll fight till the end and we’ll win because our country has gone to hell. We don’t have the same country anymore. We have a divided mess. We’re a nation in decline, serious decline, millions and millions of people pouring into our country right now, from prisons and from mental institutions terrorists, and they’re taking over our country,” Trump said.

After roughly 10 hours of deliberations, the panel of New York residents returned a verdict in the first criminal trial of a sitting or former president.

Trump was charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records for covering up hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep her silent about an alleged affair. Prosecutors said this was part of a larger catch-and-kill scheme to influence the 2016 presidential election.

Trump will return to Manhattan criminal court on July 11th for sentencing.