'The jury has spoken': Manhattan DA Bragg reacts to Trump conviction

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Thursday addressed the jury's guilty verdict in his hush money case against former President Donald Trump, insisting that he had performed his duty without bias and that the jury had reached its verdict through the normal process.

"I did my job. Our job is to follow the facts without fear or favor and that's exactly what we did," he told reporters. "The jury has spoken."

"Twelve everyday New Yorkers... heard testimony from 22 witnesses," Bragg said. "They reviewed call logs, text messages, and emails..."

"Their deliberations led them to a unanimous conclusion beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant, Donald J. Trump, is guilty... to conceal a scheme to corrupt the 2016 election," he insisted.

"While this defendant may be unlike any other in American history... we arrived at this trial and ultimately this verdict... by following the facts," Bragg said, before thanking the New York Police Department for securing the courthouse throughout the proceedings.

"This type of white collar prosecution is core to what we do at the Manhattan District Attorney's office," he also said. "A major part of our practice... has been public integrity work."

A New York jury on Thursday convicted former President Donald Trump on 34 counts of falsifying business records. The case marked both the first prosecution and conviction of a former U.S. president in American history.

Trump's sentencing is set for July 11 and he is almost certain to appeal the conviction. Bragg declined to address possible motions during the sentencing process.

The former president fumed over the verdict and reiterated his criticisms of acting Justice Juan Merchan, whom he said should never have been permitted to preside over the case.

"This was a disgrace. This was a rigged trial by a conflicted judge who was corrupt. It's a rigged trial, a disgrace," he said. "The real verdict is going to be November 5th by the people. And they know what happened here, and everybody knows what happened here. You have a Soros-backed DA, and the whole thing, we didn't do a thing wrong."

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.