Donald Trump said on Friday he would appeal the guilty verdict that made him the first U.S. president convicted of a crime, though he will have to wait until after his sentencing on July 11 before taking that step.
In rambling remarks at the Trump Tower lobby in Manhattan where he announced his first presidential run in 2015, Trump repeated his complaints that the trial was an attempt to hobble his comeback White House bid and warned that it showed no American was safe from politically motivated prosecution.
“If they can do this to me, they can do this to anyone,” Trump said in an unscripted 33-minute speech. Applauded by supporters, Trump, the Republican candidate in the 2024 election took no questions from reporters.
Thursday’s guilty verdict catapults the United States into unexplored territory ahead of the Nov. 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 $10,000 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 U.S. 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
Americans vote 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.
