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While being investigated by Major League Baseball over gambling allegations, veteran infielder David Fletcher is getting an opportunity to pitch in the minor leagues and turned in an impressive outing Wednesday in his first start.

Pitching for the Atlanta Braves’ Class AAA affiliate, the Gwinnett Stripers, Fletcher racked up six strikeouts in five innings, allowing three hits and two runs against the Norfolk Tides (Baltimore Orioles).

Notably, he whiffed top prospect Jackson Holliday with a knuckleball.

Fletcher is currently under investigation by Major League Baseball over allegations that he placed bets with an illegal bookmaker, the same one linked to Shohei Ohtani’s long-time interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara.

Follow every MLB game: Latest MLB scores, stats, schedules and standings.

Fletcher was Ohtani’s teammate with the Los Angeles Angels for six seasons, both debuting in 2018..

Fletcher told ESPN earlier this year that he was at the poker game where Mizuhara first met the bookie. Fletcher claimed he did not introduce Mizuhari to the man but the bookie gained entry to the game at through an acquaintance of Fletcher.

David Fletcher contract

Fletcher hit .277 in six seasons with the Angels, earning MVP votes in the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign when he hit .319 in 49 games. Traded to the Braves in the offseason, Fletcher is making $6.5 million this season and has club options worth a total of $16.5 million in 2025-26, with a $1.5 million buyout on each year.

Fletcher had signed a five-year, $26 million extension with the Angels prior to the 2021 campaign.

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Note: This story contains graphic descriptions of sexual abuse that may be offensive to some readers or painful to survivors of sexual assault.

A sex trafficking and sexual misconduct lawsuit filed against former WWE boss Vince McMahon by an employee has been put on hold while the U.S. Department of Justice conducts their own investigation.

“Ms. Grant has consented to a request by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York to stay her case against Mr. McMahon, WWE and Mr. Laurinaitis, pursuant to a pending non-public investigation,’ Grant’s attorney Ann Callis said in a statement to USA TODAY Sports. ‘We will cooperate with all appropriate next steps.”

According to court documents filed in Connecticut in January, Grant alleges that McMahon pushed her into ‘a physical relationship in return for long-promised employment at WWE,’ which involved a forced sexual relationship, sharing of private photos and videos, as well as coercing Grant into having sexual relations with other WWE staffers, including Laurinaitis.

‘McMahon also subjected Grant to acts of extreme cruelty and degradation that caused Grant to disassociate and/or become numb to reality in order to survive the horrific encounters,’ the lawsuit states.

McMahon resigned as executive chairman and board member of TKO Group Holdings, parent company of WWE, the day after the lawsuit was filed, but the wrestling company’s founder maintains his innocence.

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‘Tis the season for the wide receiver to get paid.

A day after the Houston Texans wideout Nico Collins received a three-year, $72.75 million extension with $52 million in guaranteed money, the Miami Dolphins offered Jaylen Waddle a three-year contract extension, worth $84.75 million, according to multiple media reports. That deal includes $76 million in guarantees.

Waddle has gained 1,000 or more receiving yards in each of his three NFL seasons in Miami. In 2023, he had 72 catches for 1,014 yards and four touchdowns.

The 25-year-old Waddle is set to make $4.4 million next year and $15 million in 2025 before he was scheduled to hit free agency in 2026.

In terms of average per year salary, only A.J. Brown ($32 million), Amon-Ra St. Brown ($30 million), Tyreek Hill ($30 million), and Davante Adams ($28 million) are set to make more annually than Waddle.

All things Dolphins: Latest Miami Dolphins news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

The wide receiver market is only expected to get bigger as Cincinnati Bengals wide receivers Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase, CeeDee Lamb of the Dallas Cowboys, Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings, and Brandon Aiyuk of the San Francisco 49ers are among those who will seek big-money extensions over the next year.

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OKLAHOMA CITY — Kinzie Hansen delivered once again.

Oklahoma softball’s queen of clutch came up with another big moment, delivering a two-run home run in the third inning to help lift the second-seeded Sooners to a come-from-behind run-rule win over Duke Thursday at the Women’s College World Series.

The Sooners beat the Blue Devils 9-1 in six innings at Devin Park as they begin their quest for an unprecedented fourth consecutive NCAA Division I softball championship.

Hansen drove in another run in the fourth on a single and finished 2-for-3 with three RBI.

The Sooners (55-6) have now won 19 consecutive NCAA Tournament games, extending their NCAA record, and have won nine consecutive WCWS games.

Hansen has repeatedly come up with big-time home runs during her career.

In last season’s super regionals, Hansen hit a game-tying, three-run homer in the seventh inning against Clemson when the Sooners were down to their last strike in the final game at Marita Hynes Field.

Two years ago against Texas in Game 2 of the WCWS Championship Series, Hansen blasted a three-run home run in the fifth inning just after Alyssa Brito’s double gave the Sooners the lead.

Hansen’s blast Thursday was her sixth career WCWS home run, tying her for third on the NCAA career list with former Oklahoma star Lauren Chamberlain.

Only Oklahoma’s Jocelyn Alo (12) and Tiare Jennings (8) have more.

Duke led 1-0 in the third when Jayda Coleman led off the inning with a single, prompting Duke to make a pitching change.

Jala Wright struck out the first two batters she faced before Hansen jumped all over Wright’s first-pitch change up to put the Sooners ahead.

Kelly Maxwell started and went 3⅔ innings, allowing just one hit and striking out four with four walks, before giving away to Kierston Deal.

Deal pitched the last 2⅓ innings to give the Sooners the victory.

Here are three more takeaways from the Sooners’ win:

Defense shines for Sooners

Oklahoma’s defense has been a strength all season.

On the biggest stage, the Sooners once again came up big, making several critical plays to keep Duke from stringing hits together.

The biggest play came in the top of the fourth, when the Blue Devils loaded the bases without the benefit of a hit.

Gisele Tapia looped one into short left-center that looked destined to score a pair of runs, but Oklahoma center fielder Jayda Coleman raced in and laid out for the diving catch to end the threat.

That was far from the only defensive highlight for the Sooners.

Earlier in the fourth, second baseman Alynah Torres made a quick turn on a slow grounder toward second to get the lead runner.

In the next inning, shortstop Tiare Jennings fielded D’Auna Jennings’ weak grounder up the middle, spun and fired to first just in time to retire the Blue Devils’ leadoff hitter.

Avery Hodge, who had replaced Torres at second, and Jennings teamed up in the sixth, with Hodge recovering from a slight bobble to quickly flip to Jennings, who fired to first to finish off the double play and end the inning.

Alynah Torres, Cydney Sanders break out

While Alynah Torres and Cydney Sanders have had productive stretches this season, both had been scuffling before appearing to begin to breakout of slumps last week against Florida State.

The duo came through in big ways for the Sooners in the opener, with each hitting two-run homers.

After Hansen’s homer in the third, Alyssa Brito drew a walk before Torres stretched the Sooners lead with a two-run home run to left.

The home run was Torres’ ninth of the season but her first since April 19 against Houston.

It had been even longer for Sanders.

Sanders blasted a no-doubt homer in the fourth after Rylie Boone led off the inning with a  bunt single.

The home run was Sanders’ first since April 16 against Tulsa.

Up next: UCLA

The Sooners now get a day off before taking on UCLA in the winner’s bracket at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday.

The Bruins beat Alabama 4-1 in the day’s first game.

It will be the eighth meeting between Oklahoma and UCLA in the WCWS. The Sooners have faced only Alabama more in the event.

The Bruins have won four of the seven WCWS matchups with the Sooners.

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Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin joined some rare company when he was announced on Thursday as the winner of the Lady Byng Trophy.

He’s the second defenseman to win the award for ‘sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct’ at least twice, joining four-time winner Red Kelly. He’s also the second U.S.-born player to win it twice, joining Joe Mullen.

Slavin played nearly 1,700 minutes and recorded 37 points while being assessed only eight penalty minutes. He became the franchise’s all-time leading defenseman in assists (223) and points (272) this season.

He received 81 first-place votes and 1,174 points to edge the Vancouver Canucks’ Elias Pettersson (508) and Toronto Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews (506).

Slavin won the award in 2020-21 and finished second in voting the following year.

When will NHL awards winners be announced?

There will be an awards show on June 27 in Las Vegas, before the NHL draft. The winners for Hart Trophy, Ted Lindsay Award, Norris Trophy, Vezina Trophy and Calder Trophy will be announced then.

Other awards will be announced earlier:

May 14: Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award. Winner: New York Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba

May 15: Masterton Trophy for perseverance. Winner: Arizona Coyotes goalie Connor Ingram.

May 18: Selke Trophy for defensive forward. Winner: Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov.

May 22: Jack Adams Award for coach. Winner: Vancouver Canucks’ Rick Tocchet.

May 28: King Clancy Trophy for humanitarian contribution. Winner: New York Islanders forward Anders Lee.

May 30: Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship. Winner: Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin.

June 10: Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year

June 13: Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award

Who are the finalists for NHL awards?

Finalists listed in alphabetical order unless noted

Hart Trophy (MVP to this team, writers’ vote): Tampa Bay Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov, Colorado Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon and Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid.

Ted Lindsay Award (most outstanding player, players’ vote): Tampa Bay Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov, Colorado Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon and Toronto Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews.

Vezina Trophy (goalie): Florida Panthers’ Sergei Bobrovsky, Vancouver Canucks’ Thatcher Demko and Winnipeg Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck.

Norris Trophy (defenseman): Vancouver Canucks’ Quinn Hughes, Nashville Predators’ Roman Josi and Colorado Avalanche’s Cale Makar.

Calder Trophy (rookie): Chicago Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard, Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber and New Jersey Devils defenseman Luke Hughes.

Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year: Vancouver Canucks’ Patrik Allvin, Dallas Stars’ Jim Nill and Florida Panthers’ Bill Zito.

Selke Trophy (defensive forward, in voting order): Barkov, Carolina Hurricanes’ Jordan Staal and Toronto Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews.

Jack Adams Award (coach, in voting order): Tocchet, Vancouver Canucks, Nashville Predators’ Andrew Brunette and Winnipeg Jets’ Rick Bowness.

Lady Byng Trophy (sportsmanship, in voting order): Slavin, Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson and Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews.

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Former President Trump was found guilty on all counts in New York v. Trump, but his legal challenges are far from over, as he awaits scheduling of trials and a major Supreme Court decision to determine whether he’ll have to spend any more time in a courtroom during the 2024 election cycle.

The former president was found guilty on all counts in New York v. Trump Thursday afternoon. A sentencing hearing for the 34 criminal charges in the New York case is set for July 11.

Trump, speaking to reporters after the jury announced its verdict, said he will ‘fight to the end,’ and declared: ‘This is far from over.’ 

The trial kept the former president of the United States confined to a Lower Manhattan courtroom and off the campaign trail for six weeks.

During the trial, Trump had pleaded with New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan to let him attend arguments at the Supreme Court on the issue of presidential immunity, and on whether he was immune from prosecution by Special Counsel Jack Smith in his 2020 election interference investigation.

Merchan denied his request and was required to stay in New York while those arguments took place.

A decision from the high court could come any day. That decision will impact whether a trial will take place for the former president related to Smith’s charges in that jurisdiction. 

Smith charged the former president with conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights. Those charges stemmed from Smith’s investigation into whether Trump was involved in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and any alleged interference in the 2020 election result.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in August.

The Supreme Court’s decision will determine if and when a trial could take place related to those charges. 

But that isn’t the only federal case pending. 

Smith also charged Trump in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida related to his investigation into the former president’s alleged improper retention of classified records. 

Trump pleaded not guilty to all 37 felony charges from Smith’s probe, including willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and false statements. 

Trump was also charged with an additional three counts as part of a superseding indictment: an additional count of willful retention of national defense information and two additional obstruction counts. 

Trump pleaded not guilty. 

But earlier this month, Judge Aileen Cannon, who is presiding over the case, postponed Trump’s trial indefinitely. 

The trial was initially scheduled to begin on May 20, but noted that due to the ‘myriad and interconnected pre-trial’ issues ‘remaining and forthcoming,’ it would be ‘imprudent and inconsistent with the Court’s duty to fully and fairly consider the various pending pre-trial motions.’ 

Cannon vacated the initial May 20 trial date and reset the trial ‘following resolution of the matters before the Court consistent with Defendants’ right to due process and the public’s interest in the fair and efficient administration of justice.’ 

Cannon scheduled hearings through late July, but did not set a new date for trial. 

It is unclear if that trial will take place before the November presidential election. 

And in Fulton County, Ga., Trump was charged by District Attorney Fani Willis with one count of violation of the Georgia RICO Act, three counts of criminal solicitation, six counts of criminal conspiracy, one count of filing false documents and two counts of making false statements. 

He pleaded not guilty to all counts. 

Willis had proposed the trial begin in August, but that has been postponed, amid her own controversy surrounding the case. 

Willis has been in court defending herself after revelations that she had a romantic relationship with prosecutor Nathan Wade, who she brought onto her team to help bring charges against Trump.

A trial date has not yet been determined. 

Meanwhile, Trump is appealing a decision in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ non-jury civil fraud case. New York Judge Arthur Engoron found Trump liable for $454 million in damages and barred him from operating business in New York for three years after ruling he inflated his assets.

Trump had his bond slashed to $175 million, which he posted, and is appealing the decision. 

Trump and his family denied any wrongdoing, with the former president saying his assets had been undervalued. Trump’s legal team insisted that his financial statements had disclaimers, and made it clear to banks that they should conduct their own assessments.

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Former President Donald Trump’s conviction in his historic trial in New York City is thrusting his 2024 election rematch with President Biden into uncharted waters.

Trump, who was the first former or current president to stand trial in a criminal case, has now become the first major party nominee to run for the White House as a convicted felon.

And the verdict of guilty on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records could immediately impact the trajectory of the presidential race, where Trump currently holds the slight edge both in national polling and in public opinion surveys in most of the crucial battleground states that will likely decide the election.

But two-thirds of registered voters nationwide questioned in a NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist National Poll released on Thursday – just hours before the blockbuster verdict – said a conviction in the trial would make no difference to their vote in the presidential election. Seventeen percent said a conviction of Trump would make them less likely to vote for him and 15% said they’d be more inclined to support the former president at the ballot box.

‘If Donald Trump is a convicted felon going into the November election, that has to mean something to the small number of undecided voters in the six battleground states that will decide the election,’ seasoned Democratic strategist Chris Moyer told Fox News.

Moyer, a veteran of a handful of Democratic presidential campaigns, emphasized that ‘every little development in this race could push voters one way or another. Nobody wants to be a convicted felon when you’re putting your name on the ballot.’

Longtime Republican consultant Colin Reed acknowledged that it’s ‘never a good thing to be convicted, in life or politics, of a crime.’

‘But the old rules and the old conventional way of thinking have never really applied to Donald Trump throughout his life as a political figure,’ Reed, a veteran of multiple GOP presidential campaigns, added. 

‘It remains to be seen if this is a political anvil or if it’s just another chapter in a long saga of ups and downs for a guy who survived seemingly insurmountable political odds before,’ Reed said.

Trump was charged with falsifying business records in relation to payments during the 2016 election that he made to Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about his alleged affair with the adult film actress. Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, paid Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, $130,000 in return for her silence about allegations of an affair with Trump in 2006. Prosecutors argued that this amounted to illegally seeking to influence the 2016 election.

Both Cohen and Daniels testified for the prosecution and were grilled by Trump’s attorneys during cross-examination in a case that has grabbed tons of attention on the cable news networks, online and on social media.

The former president repeatedly denied falsifying business records as well as the alleged sexual encounter with Daniels, and he has repeatedly claimed, without providing evidence, that the case was ‘prosecuted directly from the inner halls of the White House and DOJ.’

Trump was also fined a couple of times and threatened with jail by the judge in the case for violating a gag order aimed at protecting witnesses and jurors from the former president’s verbal attacks.

Trump, speaking to cameras following the verdict, called it ‘disgraceful,’ charged that the trial was ‘rigged,’ and said the ‘real verdict is going to be Nov. 5 by the people,’ as he pointed to his presidential election rematch with Biden.

‘The whole thing was rigged from day one — from the venue to the judge,’ Trump added in an exclusive interview with Fox News’ Brooke Singman.

The former president plans to hold a news conference at 11am ET on Friday.

Veteran pollster Chris Anderson, a member of the Fox News Election Decision Team and the Democratic partner on the Fox News Poll, said that he did not think ‘a guilty verdict would fundamentally change the landscape of the race.’ Both Cohen and Daniels testified for the prosecution and were grilled by Trump’s attorneys during cross-examination in a case that has grabbed tons of attention on the cable news networks, online and on social media.

Daron Shaw, a politics professor and chair at the University of Texas who also serves as a member of the Fox News Decision Team and the Republican partner on the Fox News Poll, noted that ‘prior to 2020, no one would have thought that a candidate could survive a criminal conviction.’

‘But times and circumstances have evolved. And while the specific findings of the jury could matter, I think there is a sense that a conviction in this case would not appreciably change the dynamics of the race,’ Shaw emphasized.

Both pointed to the fact that ‘attitudes are so set in concrete’ regarding both the former Republican president and his Democratic successor in the White House.

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President Biden’s 2024 re-election campaign says the unanimous guilty verdicts Thursday in former President Trump’s criminal trial show that ‘no one is above the law.’

Trump was found guilty by a jury in New York City on all 34 felony charges of falsifying business records in his history-making case in which a former or current president for the first time was tried in court.

‘Donald Trump has always mistakenly believed he would never face consequences for breaking the law for his own personal gain,’ Biden campaign communications director Michael Tyler said in a statement minutes after the verdict was read in court.

But Tyler emphasized that ‘today’s verdict does not change the fact that the American people face a simple reality. There is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: at the ballot box. Convicted felon or not, Trump will be the Republican nominee for president.’

Tyler charged that ‘the threat Trump poses to our democracy has never been greater. He is running an increasingly unhinged campaign of revenge and retribution, pledging to be a dictator ‘on day one’ and calling for our Constitution to be ‘terminated’ so he can regain and keep power.’

And he argued that ‘a second Trump term means chaos, ripping away Americans’ freedoms and fomenting political violence – and the American people will reject it this November.’

The Biden campaign was also quick to fundraiser off the verdict.

‘Despite a jury finding Donald Trump guilty today, there is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: At the ballot box,’ the Biden campaign wrote in a fundraising text to supporters. ‘If you have been waiting for the perfect time to make your first donation to Joe Biden’s reelection campaign, we’re here to tell you today is the day.’

Trump, speaking to cameras following the verdict, called it ‘disgraceful,’ charged that the trial was ‘rigged,’ and said the ‘real verdict is going to be Nov. 5 by the people,’ as he pointed to his presidential election rematch with Biden.

‘The whole thing was rigged from day one — from the venue to the judge,’ Trump added in an exclusive interview with Fox News’ Brooke Singman.

The former president plans to hold a news conference at 11am ET on Friday.

Trump was charged with falsifying business records in relation to payments during the 2016 election that he made to Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about his alleged affair with the adult film actress. Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, paid Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, $130,000 in return for her silence about allegations of an affair with Trump in 2006. Prosecutors argued that this amounted to illegally seeking to influence the 2016 election.

Both Cohen and Daniels testified for the prosecution and were grilled by Trump’s attorneys during cross-examination in a case that has grabbed tons of attention on the cable news networks, online and on social media.

The former president repeatedly denied falsifying business records as well as the alleged sexual encounter with Daniels, and he has repeatedly claimed, without providing evidence, that the case was ‘prosecuted directly from the inner halls of the White House and DOJ.’

Trump was also fined a couple of times and threatened with jail by the judge in the case for violating a gag order aimed at protecting witnesses and jurors from the former president’s verbal attacks.

During the course of the month and a half trial, the president stayed mostly silent regarding the case to avoid any perceptions of interference. It appeared to be an effort to combat Trump’s repeated unsubstantiated allegations that it was a ‘SHAM TRIAL instigated and prosecuted directly from the inner halls of the White House and DOJ [Department of Justice].’

But the Biden campaign on Tuesday held a news conference outside the courthouse in Lower Manhattan, which appeared to be a major break with their strategy over the past six weeks of steering clear of the case.

Similar to what the Trump campaign had been doing for the duration of the trial, the Biden team came equipped with high-profile surrogates. They were actor and Biden supporter Robert De Niro – who last week voiced a campaign ad for the president – and former police officers Harry Dunn and Michael Fanone, who fought back against pro-Trump rioters during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The move by the campaign came as Biden currently trails Trump both in national polling and in public opinion surveys in most of the crucial battleground states that will likely decide their election rematch.

The Biden campaign says the surprise news conference may be a taste of things to come. Officials confirmed to Fox News they will continue ‘to look for opportunities to drive our message.’

Two questions have yet to be answered: how aggressively will the Biden campaign label Trump a ‘convicted felon’ and how and where will the president address the outcome of the trial? No formal remarks from Biden have been announced.

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Those considered to be top names on former President Trump’s running mate shortlist didn’t hold back in torching his guilty verdict handed down earlier in the afternoon by the jury in his New York City trial.

The jury found Trump guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records related to the hush money payment to adult fil actress Stormy Daniels in the lead up to the 2016 presidential election.

‘This decision is a disgrace to the rule of law and our Constitution,’ Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance wrote on X. ‘Dems invented a felony to ‘get Trump,’ with the help of a Soros-funded prosecutor and a Biden donor Judge, who rigged the entire case to get this outcome. This isn’t justice, it’s election interference.’

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio called the verdict a ‘complete travesty,’ and argued it ‘makes a mockery of our system of justice.’

‘A political show trial conducted by an openly pro-Biden judge whose daughter makes money off the case, a jury from the most liberal county in America, absurd and ridiculous charges and outrageous jury instructions that guaranteed guilty verdicts Biden and the Trump-deranged left will stop at nothing to remain in power,’ Rubio wrote on X.

Former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy predicted the trial’s outcome would ultimately backfire, referencing to District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s promise to ‘nail Trump,’ and Judge Juan Merchan’s daughter being a ‘Democratic operative,’ while Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders caked the trial ‘politically motivated,,’ and a ‘sham.’

‘The American people decide our elections. Donald Trump will be our next president,’ she wrote on X.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wrote, ‘Today’s verdict represents the culmination of a legal process that has been bent to the political will of the actors involved: a leftist prosecutor, a partisan judge and a jury reflective of one of the most liberal enclaves in America — all in an effort to ‘get’ Donald Trump.’ 

‘That this case—involving alleged misdemeanor business records violations from nearly a decade ago—was even brought is a testament to the political debasement of the justice system in places like New York City,’ he wrote. ‘This is especially true considering this same district attorney routinely excuses criminal conduct in a way that has endangered law-abiding citizens in his jurisdiction.’ 

‘If the defendant were not Donald Trump, this case would never have been brought, the judge would have never issued similar rulings, and the jury would have never returned a guilty verdict. In America, the rule of law should be applied in a dispassionate, even-handed manner, not become captive to the political agenda of some kangaroo court,’ he added.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said the American people could see the outcome of the trial ‘for what it is: a politically motivated prosecution orchestrated by those who want to ‘get’ President Trump.’

‘On November 5th, Americans will render their verdict on Joe Biden’s failed leadership based on the issues that affect them everyday,’ he wrote on X.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum wrote, ‘This verdict is a travesty of justice. The judge was a Biden donor. The prosecutors were Biden supporters. This Lawfare should scare every American. The American people will have their say in November.’

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott posted a video of himself on X blasting what he called a ‘hoax,’ a ‘sham,’ and evidence of an ‘obsolete injustice justice system.’

‘DA Bragg and the judge should be ashamed of themselves. This isn’t just ridiculous, this actually erodes the confidence that Americans have in the justice system. Unbelievable,’ he said.

‘But good news is coming. DA Bragg, hear me clearly. You cannot silence the American people. You cannot stop us from voting for change. Joe Biden’s injustice, Joe Biden’s two-tier injustice system, weaponizing the justice system of the United States of America against a political opponent, un-American. Joe Biden, you’re fired. We the people stand with Donald Trump.’

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem blasted Merchan in her own post, calling him a ‘massively conflicted Biden donor and liberal judge.’

 She referred to the guilty verdict as a ‘wrongful conviction,’ and wrote, ‘President Trump did nothing wrong, and even the liberal media knows it. The judge violated Trump’s constitutional rights and did everything in his power to get this outcome despite the clear evidence Trump was innocent. No doubt Trump will be easily vindicated soon as the case will obviously be overturned on appeal.’

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Former President Trump told Fox News Digital his guilty verdict is a ‘scar’ on the New York justice system, while vowing to ‘keep fighting’ and maintaining that Election Day will be ‘the most important day in the history of our country.’ 

The former president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee was found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree on Thursday after two days of jury deliberations. 

The charges stemmed from a years-long investigation out of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. The current DA, Alvin Bragg, took over the investigation in 2022. 

In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital shortly after the verdict, Trump said it is ‘a sad day for New York and a sad day for the country.’ 

‘The whole thing was rigged from day one — from the venue to the judge,’ he told Fox News Digital. ‘But I’ve never had support like this.’ 

Trump said upon returning to Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan Thursday evening, he was greeted by thousands of supporters ‘going crazy.’ 

Trump pointed to Judge Juan Merchan, saying he was ‘conflicted,’ and said the venue for the trial — Lower Manhattan — was ‘about as bad as it could possibly be.’ 

‘We couldn’t get a fair trial,’ Trump told Fox News Digital. ‘It’s a sad day for New York and a sad day for the country.’ 

The former president said ‘we have to think about how something like this could have happened to our country.’

‘We have a corrupt, Soros-backed DA — just think about what has happened to our country,’ he said. ‘It is hard to believe.’ 

He added: ‘It’s a disgrace to the city, the state and the country.’ 

But the former president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee stressed to Fox News Digital that he has ‘never had support like I have now.’ 

Trump’s sentencing date is set for July 11 — just four days before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where he is expected to be formally nominated as the 2024 Republican presidential nominee. 

‘We’ll go back and ask for a different day, but he’ll say no,’ Trump said, referring to Merchan. ‘He just says no to everything. This guy never said yes to anything.’

Meanwhile, Trump said he will ‘keep fighting.’ 

‘Of course,’ Trump said. ‘November 5th will be the most important day in the history of our country.

‘We’ll be fighting hard,’ Trump said, saying he is excited to get back on the campaign trail. 

‘It’s the first time in six weeks that I’ve been able to get out of that courthouse,’ he told Fox News Digital. 

‘This is a great scar on New York justice,’ he said. 

Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital that ‘crooked Joe Biden and the Democrats confined President Trump to a courtroom for more than eight hours a day for more than six weeks and he’s still winning.’ 

‘Now that he is fully back on the campaign trial, Biden and the Democrats better buckle up,’ she said.  

Leavitt told Fox News Digital that Trump ‘generated billions of dollars in earned media coverage throughout the trial; hosted massive rallies and impromptu campaign stops in New York and beyond; increased his lead over crooked Joe Biden in the polls and raised more money than Biden and the Democrats in the month of April — not even a witch hunt trial could slow him down — in fact, it only made him stronger.’ 

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