Donald Trump Calls the Hush Money Trial 'Disgraceful, Rigged' After Being Convicted: "I'm Innocent"

Predictably, Donald Trump pleaded his innocence after being convicted in his hush money trial on Thursday, May 30. The 12-member jury deliberated for 9 1/2 hours before declaring the verdict, finding the presumptive Republican presidential nominee guilty on all 34 counts. Soon after, the 77-year-old politician deemed the trial a 'disgrace'. He asserted, "I am innocent." 

Speaking to reporters outside the New York courtroom, Trump opined, "This was a disgrace...This was a rigged trial by a conflicted judge who was corrupt," The Sun reported.

To make his case, he further argued, "They wouldn't give us a venue change. We were at 5% or 6% in this district, in this area." Refusing to accept the outcome, he added, "This was a rigged, disgraceful trial, but the real verdict is going to be November 5th by the people, and they know what happened here...everybody knows what happened here." 

Subsequently, he declared, "We didn't do a thing wrong. I'm a very innocent man, and it's okay, I'm fighting for our country...I'm fighting for our constitution. Our whole country is being rigged right now. This was done by the Biden administration to wound and hurt a political opponent."

He also seethed that Judge Juan Merchan was a pawn at the hands of Democrats and should have never been allowed to oversee the trial. "We have a country that's in big trouble, but this was a rigged decision from day one with a conflicted judge." 

Trump was indicted for falsifying bank records to hide a $130,000 payment made to the adult film star, Stormy Daniels. Before the 2016 elections, according to the testimonies, he orchestrated the 'catch and kill' scheme with his then-fixer, Michael Cohen, and ex-National Enquirer publisher, David Pecker, to buy Daniels' silence. 

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the case, expressed his gratitude to the prosecutors and jury team at a press conference after the verdict.

"This type of white-collar prosecution is core to what we do. I did my job. Our job is to follow the facts and the law without fear or favor, and that's exactly what we did here," Bragg boasted, as per CNBC. "The only voice that matters is the voice of the jury, and the jury has spoken."

Bragg acknowledged the historic nature of the conviction and argued that the decision was made "in the same manner as every other case that comes through the courtroom doors" despite Trump being a defendant "unlike any other in American history." The star witness, Cohen also celebrated, "Today is an important day for accountability and the rule of law. While it has been a difficult journey for me and my family, the truth always matters."