In a shocking end to former President Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial, the jury found the businessman guilty on Thursday.
The verdict ended the approximately eight-week trial, Trump's first (and likely only) criminal trial before the November election. Now, the former president awaits sentencing by Judge Juan Merchan.
The trial was a tumultuous ordeal, involving testimony from several witnesses, including Trump's former "fixer" and lawyer turned nemesis, Michael Cohen, and porn star Stormy Daniels, who the trial centered around.
READ MORE: Donald Trump's lawyers tear into 'liar' Michael Cohen in closing arguments
Closing arguments concluded on Tuesday (Getty Images)Trump allegedly ordered Cohen to pay Daniels $130,000 to silence her claims that she had an affair with the real estate mogul in Nevada in 2006. She had threatened to come forward with the information before the 2016 election, which saw Trump pitted against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
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The former reality TV star ultimately won the contest after securing enough votes from the Electoral College, but he and his team reportedly feared that her claims could harm his chances at victory, so he allegedly authorized the payment to silence her.
Daniels went into detail during her testimony, even sharing some graphic scenes as she remembered their first encounter back in 2006. Throughout the testimony, Trump was reportedly cursing, shaking his head, and making known his displeasure with her testimony, which he later claimed was false.
Daniels painted the picture of a large, imposing man who blocked her in the hotel room in which they had sexual relations, stating that while she never felt threatened physically or verbally, he was intimidating and created an imbalance of power.
Michael Cohen was the prosecution's star witness (Getty Images)During Cohen's testimony, the former lawyer told the court Trump had asked him to pay off Daniels and had authorized the payments. He said he was intimately involved with every aspect of the hush money scheme.
Trump's defense team attempted to bring down the credibility of both Daniels and Cohen, arguing that Daniels had a personal financial motive for testifying against Trump since the trial allowed her to acquire lots of lucrative promotion deals. Cohen, on the other hand, was bashed for crimes that ultimately landed him in prison — crimes tied to the hush money trial against Trump — and called a "liar" by Trump and his defense team.
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