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Donald Trump slammed the “rigged, disgraceful trial” in his first comments after a Manhattan jury found him guilty on all 34 counts in the historic hush money criminal case against him.

A sour-looking Trump, 77, addressed reporters moments after the jury — five women and seven men — delivered its decision.

“The real verdict will be Nov. 5 by the people … I’m a very innocent man,” the glum ex-president told reporters, blaming the ordeal on President Biden, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and the judge who oversaw the trial.

“I’m fighting for our country, I’m fighting for our constitution,” Trump said. “We’re a nation in decline.”


  Former President Donald Trump called his Manhattan hush money trial “rigged” in his first statement since being found guilty. Photo by STEVEN HIRSCH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images Former President Donald Trump called his Manhattan hush money trial “rigged” in his first statement since being found guilty. Photo by STEVEN HIRSCH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

  Trump was found guilty by the jury of all 34 counts. POOL/AFP via Getty Images Trump was found guilty by the jury of all 34 counts. POOL/AFP via Getty Images

The presumptive 2024 Republican presidential candidate also accused Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan of being “conflicted” and “corrupt,” claiming his decision not to grant Trump’s bid for a venue change outside Manhattan — a district that overwhelmingly polls in Biden’s favor — directly led to the guilty verdict.

“Our whole country is being rigged right now. This was done by the Biden administration in order to vote to wound or hurt an opponent, a political opponent. And I think it’s just a disgrace,” Trump said.


  Trump said his “real verdict” will be in the Nov. 5 election. Photo by SETH WENIG/POOL/AFP via Getty Images Trump said his “real verdict” will be in the Nov. 5 election. Photo by SETH WENIG/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

“And we’ll keep fighting. We’ll fight till the end and we’ll win. Because our country’s gone to hell. We don’t have the same country anymore. We have a divided mess. We’re a nation in decline, serious decline,” he continued, bizarrely taking a moment to mention the immigration crisis.

Follow the latest on Donald Trump’s guilty verdict in his hush money trial

“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. We have a country that’s in big trouble … We will fight for our Constitution. This is long from over.”

The convicted ex-president then got into his car as part of a motorcade that carried him to his home at Trump Tower, where crowds awaited his return.

Trump later announced a press conference at the Midtown high-rise for 11 a.m. on Friday.

His comments came minutes after he launched a fundraising memo on his Truth Social page, calling himself a “political prisoner.”


  Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen testified about a hush money payment made to Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen testified about a hush money payment made to Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg

He pleaded for “10 million true MAGA patriots” to donate to his cause, continuing to claim he “did nothing wrong!”

It was one of several ready-made advertisements that were pumped out on Trump’s social media, all alleging that the conviction was a ploy to keep him out of the White House.

The same message was plastered on his WinRed account, alongside his mugshot from his unrelated arrest on racketeering causes in Atlanta, Georgia, saying that the funds would show “Crooked Joe Biden” that his chances of a second term “end today.”

What happens next after Trump is found guilty in hush money case

  • Donald Trump, who was found guilty on all 34 counts, will remain free until his scheduled sentencing on the morning of July 11.
  • The former president does not face any travel restrictions until the sentencing.
  • Trump’s attorneys said they plan to appeal the verdict “as soon as we can.”
  • If Trump loses an appeal with the mid-level appeals court, he’ll likely seek to have the state’s highest court hear his case, which could take an additional year.

Here you can read more about what happens next following the historic guilty verdict and what Trump potentially faces.

“YOUR SUPPORT IS THE ONLY THING STANDING BETWEEN US AND TOTAL TYRANNY!” the memo, released by the Trump National Committee JFC, said.

The website, a Republican donation platform, was seemingly inundated with support and crashed after Trump’s posts.

Trump’s former “fixer” lawyer Michael Cohen — who turned on the ex-president in the trial — also put out a message in the moments after the decision was reached, apparently celebrating the resounding guilty verdict.


  Stormy Daniels testified in the trial about her affair with Trump. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg Stormy Daniels testified in the trial about her affair with Trump. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg

“Guilty On All Counts! #TeamCohen,” he tweeted, alongside an image of an MSNBC guilty-counter.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee was accused of fudging company documents tied to claims he had his then-fixer Michael Cohen — the prosecution’s star witness — made a hush money payment to Stormy Daniels in the lead-up to the 2016 election to silence her story about having an affair with Trump.

He was convicted on all 34 counts of falsifying business records, felonies that each carried a possible sentence of up to four years behind bars, in the case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office — making him the US president to become a convicted felon.

Daniels, at the nearly two month-long trial, testified that she had sex with a married Trump following a Lake Tahoe charity golf event in 2006.

Trump is the first US president convicted in a criminal case.

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