The jury has found former President Donald Trump guilty of all 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Celebrities shared mixed reactions to former President Donald Trump’s conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records, which was deemed historic as it marks the first criminal conviction of a U.S. president.
Singer and actress Barbra Streisand took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to call on Americans to take President Trump’s conviction as a message that they should not let him return to the White House.
“Convicted felon Donald Trump is blaming the judge, the jury and New York for being found guilty on 34 counts. He will never accept accountability for his crimes. Americans must not allow this felon anywhere near the White House again,” she
stated.
Actor John Leguizamo
wrote on his social media account: “We are all cheering for justice and that no one is above the law!”
“The dumb treacherous criminal is now a convicted felon - 34 times over. Now what will judge do with Trump contempt violations,” actor John Cusack
wrote of the former president’s conviction.
“TEARS OF JOY,” comedian Kathy Griffin
stated on X following the verdict. She was fired by CNN in 2017 after she posed for a photo holding an imitation severed head depicting President Trump.
Actress Yvette Nicole Brown said that President Trump’s verdict has shown that “no one is above the law.”
“Not even your CRIMINAL pappy @DonaldJTrumpJr! You daddy is a FELON thirty four times over. #LockHerUp seems silly now, doesn’t it, little buddy? It’s almost like you and your daddy brought this embarrassment on yourselves,” she
wrote.
‘Politically Partisan Action’
Some celebrities criticized the court’s decision, including broadcaster Piers Morgan.
“This is a sad, shameful and ridiculous day for America. To drag a former President, who is running for President again, through criminal courts over something so trivial feels a massive overreach & an incredibly divisive and obviously politically partisan action,” he
stated on X.
Caitlyn Jenner, a reality TV personality, decried the former president’s conviction and called it “absolute chaos by the state of New York and the federal government.”
“The United States is a banana republic under the Biden DOJ. Disgusting! Hope the court of appeals steps in with swift action,” the former Olympian
stated on X.
Actor and comedian Rob Schneider suggested that the verdict was issued by “biased Democrats.”
“And just like that… A former President of the United States has been hounded and found guilty by biased Democrats,” he
wrote. “Now the Republicans will have to retaliate against Democrats when they regain power. I appeal to ALL AMERICANS TO REFRAIN FROM VIOLENCE.”
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged President Trump with falsifying business records related to payments made to adult film performer Stephanie Clifford, who goes by Stormy Daniels, under a nondisclosure agreement about her claims she had an affair with him. President Trump has denied the affair.
Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen paid Ms. Clifford about $130,000 under the agreement and then sought to be reimbursed. The district attorney charged that President Trump mislabeled his reimbursements to Mr. Cohen for those payments to conceal the fact that the payments were meant to influence the 2016 election, constituting felony-level falsification of business records.
Justice Juan Merchan, the presiding judge in the case, will determine the sentence on July 11. Without a successful appeal, the potential sentence could range from imprisonment and probation to monetary fines.
President Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, has
condemned the verdict and said “the real verdict is going to be Nov. 5, by the people.” Incarceration would not prevent him from taking office if he were to win the presidency under the U.S. Constitution.
Caden Pearson contributed to this report.