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What's next for Trump after guilty verdict in hush money case

Former President Trump became the first-ever former U.S. president to become a convicted felon on Thursday.

Why it matters: What comes after the guilty verdict in the New York criminal trial will be unprecedented for a current or former U.S. president.


State of play: Trump, the presumed 2024 GOP nominee, is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11, just one week before the Republican National Convention.

  • His attorney Todd Blanche told CNN Trump's legal team would "vigorously fight" with motions in the coming weeks and if unsuccessful with these, they would appeal following his sentencing.
  • The appeals process is unlikely to conclude before the November election.

Would Trump go to jail?

Judge Juan Merchan will determine whether Trump's punishment will include a prison sentence.

  • The 34 charges are all Class E felonies — the least severe level in New York. They each carry the possibility of up to four years in prison.
  • But the judge can also decide to sentence Trump to probation without prison time. That would require the former president to regularly report to a probation officer. If he commits any more crimes, Trump could then be jailed.

Zoom in: "The judge could sentence him to anything between zero and the max," Dan Horwitz, a defense lawyer who formerly prosecuted white collar cases for the Manhattan District Attorney's office, told CBS News.

  • He could sentence Trump to a period of weeks or months or "a sentence where he is required, for example, to go to jail every weekend for a period of time and then serve the rest of the sentence on probation," Horwitz said.

Can Trump run for president as a convicted felon?

While Trump can still run for president, it's not yet clear if he'll be able to vote for himself since some states have laws that limit the voting rights of a person with a felony conviction.

  • Trump moved his residency to Florida after leaving the White House in 2021. According to Florida law, the ability of people with a felony conviction to vote depends on the laws in the state where they were convicted.
  • "New York only disenfranchises people while serving a prison sentence, so assuming Trump is not sentenced to prison time, his rights would be restored by New York law and therefore also in Florida," Blair Bowie, an attorney at the Campaign Legal Center said.
  • "The only way he wouldn't be able to vote is if he is in prison on Election Day," Bowie said.

Trump verdict

Catch up quick: Trump was found guilty on all counts Thursday in his New York hush money trial.

  • He was charged last year with 34 felony counts in the first degree of falsifying business records in connection with a $130,000 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels over an alleged sexual encounter.
  • He faces three other criminal cases, though none are expected to conclude before the November election.

Go deeper... Trump, Biden agree: Only November matters

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include comments from Blair Bowie and former President Trump's attorney Todd Blanche.

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