Here's how jurors were unanimous on Trump falsifying records, but not on 'unlawful means'

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: In a landmark decision on Thursday, May 30, a Manhattan jury found former President Donald Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records.

The unanimous verdict required jurors to conclude that Trump had intentionally doctored records to conceal another crime—conspiring to influence the 2016 election by illegal means.

Jury's deliberation and verdict in Trump's hush money case

Prosecutors argued that the underlying crime involved a conspiracy to use unlawful methods to secure Trump’s election to public office. Central to the case were hush-money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels, allegedly intended to prevent potential scandals from damaging his electoral prospects.

Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan outlined three possible unlawful means for the jury to consider: violating federal campaign finance laws, breaching tax laws, or further falsifying business records.

Justice Merchan instructed that the payments would have had to exceed the $2,700 cap on individual campaign donations and be explicitly tied to Trump’s candidacy for the jury to find a federal campaign finance violation. However, the jury's verdict sheet did not specify which unlawful means they believed underpinned the conspiracy.

The jury's decision, marked by checkmarks against each count of falsifying business records, came after two days of deliberations, the New York Post reported.

Notably, the verdict may have had unintended consequences. Instead of diminishing Trump's popularity, it appeared to galvanize his supporters. Within minutes of the guilty verdict, Trump’s campaign donation page crashed due to the surge of traffic.

Support and donations surge for Trump following verdict

Following the verdict, Trump saw an influx of donations, including a substantial $300,000 contribution from Shaun Maguire, a partner at Sequoia Capital.

Maguire, commenting on the timing, stated, "The timing isn’t a coincidence," reflecting the sentiment of many Trump supporters who viewed the trial as politically motivated.

According to Open Secrets, Sequoia Capital employees have historically donated to both major political parties and the anti-Trump group The Lincoln Project.

Trump’s campaign capitalized on this sentiment, posting on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), “The American people see through Crooked Joe Biden’s rigged show trial.”

They noted that the volume of donations was so high that it caused technical issues with their fundraising platform, WinRed.

New York gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin also voiced his support, tweeting about securing an $800,000 donation for Trump’s Joint Fundraising Committee. “Never experienced a massive ask that easy," Zeldin posted on X.

Bragg's remarks and Cohen's testimony in Trump's hush money case

Democrat District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the indictment against Trump, praised the jury’s decision and the judicial process.

“I did my job,” Bragg stated at a press conference following the verdict. “Our job is to follow the facts and the law without fear or favor and that’s exactly what we did here. What I feel is gratitude to work alongside phenomenal public servants who do that each and every day in matters that you all write about and make the press and lots of matters that you don’t."

He added, "I did my job. We did our job. Many voices out there. The only voice that matters is the voice of the jury and the jury has spoken.”

The trial featured dramatic testimonies, including that of Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney.

Cohen, who has admitted to lying in the past, testified that Trump directed him to make nondisclosure payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and orchestrated reimbursements through falsified business records.

Bragg's prosecution team linked these actions to election interference in 2016.

Trump is scheduled for sentencing on July 11.