On May 30, 2024, former President Donald Trump became the first president in U.S. history to be convicted of a crime.
The jury, composed of 12 Manhattan residents, found him guilty on all counts in a New York State Supreme Court, charging him with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree in order to conceal damaging information from American voters during the 2016 election.
Court documents show that Trump made 34 false entries on New York business records from August 2015 to December 2017 to cover up a $130,000 reimbursement to his attorney, Michael Cohen.
Cohen paid this amount to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the days before the 2016 election as part of a deal to keep her quiet about her and Trump’s alleged affair, fearing her testimony could influence American voters.
Despite the conviction, Trump remains the presumptive Republican nominee in this November’s election and has propelled false claims and misleading narratives that frame the case as a political attack.
Here are some of the common misconceptions.
Claim #1 – “No crime was committed.”
This claim is FALSE.
“They’re falsifying business records. That sounds very bad. You know, it’s only a misdemeanor,” Trump stated in a speech after the conviction.
Falsifying business records in the first degree is not a misdemeanor; it is a felony in New York and seven other U.S. states, commonly used in white-collar financial crime prosecutions. Each count usually calls for up to four years in state prison, capped at 20 consecutive years.
Data shows that 9,794 cases involving falsifying business records in the first degree have been issued in New York state courts since 2015.
“Manhattan is home to the country’s most significant business market,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement. “We cannot allow New York businesses to manipulate their records to cover up criminal conduct.”
Claim #2 – “President Biden is behind this.”
This claim is FALSE.
Trump claimed that President Joe Biden orchestrated the prosecution, alleging that the Manhattan Court was “in total conjunction with the White House and the DOJ [Department of Justice].”
There’s no evidence that Biden is connected to the case, which was brought by the state of New York, not the federal government or the Department of Justice. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office falls under the New York state government, and the President does not have the authority to intervene in state cases.
The Justice Department also previously declined to pursue a case against Trump over the same circumstances in 2019, deeming it too risky.
Claim #3 – “The trial was rigged.”
This claim is FALSE.
“This was a rigged trial by a conflicted judge who was corrupt,” Trump told reporters outside the courthouse, despite one of his former lawyers stating before the trial that he had “no issue … whatsoever” with Justice Juan Merchan overseeing the case, and “no reason to believe this judge is biased.”
And the Judge did not ultimately decide the verdict — the 12 jurors did, a group of ordinary citizens carefully selected from nearly 300 Manhattan residents with varying views of Trump and the case.
Each conviction required the jury’s unanimous verdict.
“The only voice that matters is the voice of the jury,” District Attorney Bragg stated after the trial. “Our job is to follow the facts and the law without fear or favor.”
Claim #4 – “Trump is a political prisoner.”
This claim is FALSE.
Trump took to Truth Social to fundraise for his campaign after the conviction, claiming that he is a political prisoner.
A political prisoner is defined as “one who is detained for his or her beliefs, color, sex, ethnic origin, language, or religious creed… [including] those detained without trial or prosecuted as a form of persecution.”
Trump was convicted of a felony, not for his political beliefs.
What to expect next
Trump will continue his presidential campaign as a convicted felon, and he may never face a sentencing.
Originally set for July 11, Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan postponed Trump’s sentencing by two months after the Supreme Court ruled on July 1 that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution.
Judge Merchan has agreed to weigh the possible impact of this ruling on Trump’s case, granting a request from his attorneys to file a motion seeking to overturn the verdict.
His sentencing is now set for September 18, about seven weeks before the Nov. 5 election, after early voting has already begun in several states.