Justice served, or political sham? 

The range of reactions from lawmakers following a high-profile trial involving former President Donald Trump unsurprisingly followed along party lines.

Trump, who did not testify, was found guilty Thursday in New York of falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, making him the first former president to become a convicted felon.

The unanimous verdict from the 12-person jury ended a six-week trial in which prosecutors accused Trump of orchestrating an illegal conspiracy to influence the 2016 presidential election.

For violations of a gag order restricting public comments about jurors and witnesses during the trial, Trump was fined $1,000 by the judge for each of 10 violations of the gag order.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg prosecuted the state level case. His office operates independently and is not under the direction of President Joe Biden or the federal government.

Now, Trump will have a criminal record as he seeks to become president again. The presumptive Republican nominee this November was convicted on all 34 felony counts brought by prosecutors.

“This is just a disgrace,” Trump told reporters following the verdict. “We didn’t do anything wrong. I’m an innocent man.”

Judge Juan Merchan will determine Trump’s sentence during a July 11 hearing – four days before the Republican National Convention begins.

Falsifying business records carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison, but the judge could opt for home confinement, probation or some other form of supervised release. The judge also could impose fines or community service.

Trump will most likely appeal the verdict — a process that could take months. 

Trump still stands accused of additional wide-ranging criminal conduct in three other cases: two for subverting election results during his 2020 loss to Biden and one for hoarding classified documents after he left office. But none of those cases appears likely to go to trial before Election Day.

The criminal conviction of the former president comes after a stretch of legal losses in civil cases – including an $83.3 million verdict in January in a defamation lawsuit brought by writer E. Jean Carroll and a half-billion judgment in February in a fraud case brought by the New York attorney general.

Trump, 77, is registered to vote in Florida, where convicted felons can only vote after they have completed their sentence. However, Florida also honors voting laws in the state where the felony conviction occurred, which in this case is New York.

In New York state, convicted felons are not allowed to vote only when they are imprisoned. So unless Trump is behind bars on Election Day, then he’ll probably still be able to vote for himself. 

The campaign for President Biden said Thursday’s verdict shows that “no one is above the law.”

Republican lawmakers serving the Republic-Times readership area sided with Trump following his guilty verdict. 

“New York’s six-week sham trial against President Trump has eroded the public’s trust in our legal system in a way that will take years to overcome,” U.S. Rep. Mike Bost (R-Murphysboro) said. “The trial, along with all the character attacks, campaign interference and Hollywood cameos that surrounded it, had one purpose: to weaken President Trump before the 2024 election. It won’t work.”

Bost has long supported Trump – including a vote the evening before the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol to not certify electoral college votes in Arizona or Pennsylvania. Bost also signed on to an unsuccessful Texas lawsuit challenging results of the 2020 election.

State Sen. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) claims the New York trial was carefully orchestrated behind the scenes by the “Biden Justice Department.”

“I am as dedicated to the re-election of Donald Trump now more than ever,” Bryant said. “This sham political guilty verdict confirms my feeling that this has been a political prosecution from the beginning. Shame on Joe Biden and this Banana Republic Kangaroo Court political prosecution. I look forward to President Trump being exonerated on appeal.”

State Rep. David Friess (R-Red Bud) issued a similar statement. 

“I am afraid that the guilty verdict in the Trump trial caused irreparable damage in the confidence in our criminal justice system. It is now acceptable to prosecute your political opponent,” Friess said.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, also reacted to the verdict.

“Justice has been served,” Pritzker said. “After facing a jury of his peers, Donald Trump is exposed as the liar and fraud that he is. Trump evaded the law to deceive voters and today, the law caught up with him.”