Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg speaks out after Trump is convicted: Jury is 'the only voice that matters'
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said the "only voice that matters is the voice of the jury" after former President Donald Trump was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records in a historic trial.
"While this defendant may be unlike any other in American history, we arrived at this trial, and ultimately today at this verdict, in the same manner as every other case that comes through the courtroom doors -- by following the facts and the law, and doing so without fear or favor," Bragg, whose office prosecuted the case, told reporters Thursday.
"I did my job," he added. "Our job is to follow the facts and the law without fear or favor. And that's exactly what we did."
A jury found Trump guilty on all 34 felony counts related to a 2016 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. It marks the first time in history that a former U.S. president has been convicted on criminal charges.
Bragg said this type of white-collar prosecution "is core to what we do at the Manhattan District Attorney's office."
Bragg also thanked the jury for their service and the "careful attention" they paid to the evidence and the law over the past several weeks.
"The only voice that matters is the voice of the jury," he said.
Moments after the jury reached their verdict, Trump claimed, without evidence, that the trial was "rigged".
"This was a disgrace," Trump told reporters while speaking outside the courthouse Thursday. "This was a rigged trial by a conflicted judge who was corrupt. It's a rigged trial, a disgrace."
Trump referenced the upcoming presidential election in November, calling that the "real verdict."
"The real verdict is going to be Nov. 5, by the people. And they know what happened here, and everybody knows what happened here," he said.
Trump had pleaded not guilty to the 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment his then-attorney Michael Cohen made to Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election following the release of the Access Hollywood tape.
Sentencing has been set for July 11.
