Trump is a convicted felon. Here's what it means for the former president. (2024)

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But first, the verdict is in.

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The big story

A Presidential verdict

Guilty on all counts.

In a historic verdict, former President Donald Trump was convicted of all 34 criminal counts related to a hush-money payment made to a p*rn star, write Business Insider's Laura Italiano, Jacob Shamsian, and Natalie Musumeci.

It's the first time a US president has become a convicted felon. According to a veteran court sketch artist who captured the moment for history, Trump looked "demolished" by the verdict.

It took the jury less than 10 hours over two days to reach a verdict on the case, which focused on a $130,000 hush-money payment to adult film actor Stormy Daniels made 11 days before the 2016 election.

A key piece of deliberations could have been the judge's "rain metaphor" instructions. On Thursday, jurors asked to rehear the concept — you can infer it's raining by seeing a wet umbrella even if you don't see actual rain — suggesting they were weighing Trump's intent.

Trump's sentencing is scheduled for July 11, where he could face up to four years in prison, but don't expect things to move quickly.

A legal expert told BI's Lloyd Lee that Trump likely won't face any consequences before the election due to what's sure to be a lengthy appeals process. (There's also a slim chance Trump will see the inside of a jail cell for these charges anyway.)

In the meantime, the 77-year-old, who is the likely Republican presidential nominee, didn't mince words after the verdict was announced.

"This was a disgrace. This was a rigged trial by a conflicted judge that was corrupt," Trump told reporters in the Manhattan courtroom hallway.

"I'm a very innocent man," he added.

Trump also didn't waste time leveraging his conviction into a fundraising opportunity. A graphic on his campaign's website labeled him "a political prisoner."

So what does this conviction really mean for Trump?

He can still run for president as a convicted felon. In fact, two previous candidates did it behind bars, although, unlike Trump, they were long shots.

And the conviction won't even stop him from voting — as long as he's not in jail on Election Day — according to an attorney who spoke with NBC News.

You could even argue feelings about Trump, for better or worse, will remain unchanged despite the guilty verdict. If anything, it might cause supporters and detractors to dig their heels in deeper.

(Either way, I'm curious if you feel differently about Trump. Vote here.)

In reality, Trump's fate still comes down to November's election. Trump told reporters Thursday the "real verdict is going to be November 5 by the people."

At least one person agrees: President Joe Biden.

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3 things in tech

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2. In more Google news, the company is scaling back its AI search plans. The tech giant's head of search Liz Reid confirmed in a blog post on Thursday that Google would roll back the use of AI-generated answers after the feature made several errors, including telling users to put glue in their pizza sauce.
3. Microsoft seems concerned about an OpenAI deal with Apple. CEO Satya Nadella met with Sam Altman to discuss the deal, The Information reported. Nadella was reportedly worried about the potential impact it could have on Microsoft's product ambitions.

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3. Laid-off TikTok staffers speak out. The company started letting go of employees across its ops and marketing teams last week after it had previously bucked the Big Tech trend by holding fire on cost-cutting efforts. Several ex-staffers told BI how they're feeling about the layoffs.

In other news

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What's happening today

• The Bureau of Economic Analysis will publish April's PCE inflation data, which is the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation.

The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Jordan Parker Erb, editor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. George Glover, reporter, in London.