Former US president Donald Trump has been found guilty of all 34 counts of falsifying business documents to cover up a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election.
The 12-person jury reached its verdict on Thursday night local time.
Trump, 77, pleaded not guilty and denies the alleged 2006 sexual encounter with Daniels.
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He is the first former president in US history to be convicted of a felony.
The guilty verdict could upend the 2024 presidential race, in which Republican candidate Trump is seeking to take back the White House from Democratic President Joe Biden in a November 5 election.
The conviction will not prevent Trump from running. Nor will it prevent him from taking office if he wins.
He faces a maximum sentence of four years in prison, however other people convicted of the same crime often receive shorter sentences, fines or probation.
Incarceration would not prevent him from campaigning or taking office if he were to win.
Judge Juan Merchan has set a sentencing hearing for July 11 at 10am local time.
Outside court, Trump called the verdict “a disgrace” and maintained his innocence.
“This was a rigged trial by a conflicted judge who is corrupt,” he claimed.
“It’s a rigged trial. A disgrace.”
He confirmed he will appeal the decision, saying: “The real verdict is going to be November 5 by the people and they know what happened here and everybody knows what happened here.
“I’m a very innocent man.”
Opinion polls show Trump and Biden locked in a tight race. But Reuters/Ipsos polling has found a guilty verdict could cost Trump support among independent and some Republican voters.
A verdict of not guilty would have removed a major legal barrier, freeing Trump from the obligation to juggle court appearances and campaign stops.
Trump faces three other criminal prosecutions but they are not expected to go to trial before the November 5 election.
The case stems from a $US130,000 ($A196,000) payment Trump’s then-lawyer Michael Cohen made to Daniels shortly before the 2016 election to ensure she would not tell voters her story of a sexual encounter she says she had with Trump 10 years earlier.
Trump denies ever having sex with Daniels.
Prosecutors say the payment to Daniels could have contributed to Trump’s 2016 victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton by keeping an unflattering story out of the public eye.
Prosecutors say Trump tried to cover up that payment by disguising his reimbursement payments to Cohen as legal fees.
They have charged him with 34 counts of falsifying business documents. Prosecutors elevated those charges from misdemeanour to felony status by arguing that Trump was trying to cover up evidence that interfered with the election.
Trump’s lawyers argued prosecutors did not prove he knew about the scheme, which they portrayed as normal business activity. They told jurors they could not trust the testimony of Cohen, a convicted felon with a long track record of lying.
– With CNN
