Katika kesi iliyokuwa ikimkabili Raisi wa zamani wa Marekani Donald Trump iliyohusu kutumia fedha isivyo halali kumlipa mwanamke aliyelala naye, wazee wa mahakama (jury) 12 wamefikia uamuzi kwamba Donald Trump ana hatia na hivyo lililobaki na jaji kutoa hukumu dhidi ya Raisi huyu wa zamani wa Marekani.
Donald Trump alikuwa akikabili mashitaka 34 ya kughushi nyaraka kuhalalisha malipo aliyofanya kwa mchezaji wa sinema za X, Stormy Daniels, ili amfichie siri za kutembea nae. Amepatikana na hatia katika mashitaka yote 34. Malipo hayo aliyafanya kwa kutumia fedha za kampuni na kujaribu kughushi nyaraka kuhalalisha malipo hayo kama vile ni sehemu ya malipo ya huduma za kibiashara za kampuni yake, ambalo ni kosa nchini Marekani.
Bado haieleweki ikiwa jaji huyu atatoa hukumu ambayo itatia ndani Donald Trump kutumikia kifungo gerezani. Trump atahukumiwa tarehe 11 July, na hukumu katika kesi kama hii inaweza kuwa hadi kufungwa miaka minne gerezani, au faini, au kifungo kifupi au kifungo cha nje. Na anaweza kufungwa gerezani na bado akawa raisi wa Marekani, ambapo itabidi atolewe gerezani kwenda kukabili majukumu ya uraisi White House. Kwa sasa akifungwa gerezani itabidi apatiwe ulinzi kama raisi mstaafu akiwa ndani ya gereza. Hukumu hii haimuondolei haki yake ya kuendelea na kugombea uraisi, japo anakuwa mgombea uraisi mhalifu wa kwanza nchini Marekani. Inajulikana kwamba chama chake cha Republicans kinaweza kuamua Trump asiwe mgombea wao wa uraisi, japo uwezekano huu ni mdogo sana kwa jinsi anavyoungwa mkono ndani ya chama.
Kesi hii imechukua wiki sita kukamilishwa, na inatarajiwa kwamba Trump atakata rufaa dhidi ya hukumu hii.
Pia Soma:
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Marekani: Donald Trump ashtakiwa kwa pesa haramu anazodaiwa kumlipa nyota wa filamu za ngono
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Trump atakiwa kumlipa mwanamke aliyemdhalisha Kiongono Tsh. Bilioni 211
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Donald Trump found guilty in hush money case - becoming first ex-president to be criminally convicted
Donald Trump has become the first former US president to be criminally convicted.
In a historic decision, a New York jury has found him guilty of falsifying business records to commit election fraud.
He was found guilty of all 34 counts he faced. Unanimity was required for any verdict.
The former president is set to be sentenced on 11 July.
Speaking outside the court, Trump said the conviction was a "disgrace" and that he is "a very innocent man".
He said the trial was "rigged" and that the judge was "conflicted" and "should never have been allowed to try this case".
Trump was at the centre of a scheme to cover up "hush money" payments to buy the silence of a porn star in the days before the 2016 election.
When revelations by
Stormy Daniels of a sexual liaison with Trump threatened to upend his presidential campaign, he directed his lawyer to pay her $130,000 (£102,000) to keep her quiet.
The payment buried the story, and
Trump was later elected to be the 45th president of the United States.
Trump watched the jurors dispassionately as they were polled to confirm the guilty verdict.
The Speaker of the US House of Representatives Mike Johnson said: "Today is a shameful day in American history."
The trial in the Manhattan Criminal Court heard how the backdrop to the crime was a scandal in the Trump campaign a month before the 2016 election.
A video tape from the TV show Access Hollywood was made public, in which Trump was caught on a microphone talking in lewd terms about groping women ("When you're a star they let you do it, grab them by the p***y. You can do anything.")
The trial heard how it was viewed as a "crisis" within Team Trump and that the campaign was soon facing another.
Ms Daniels, an adult film actor, claimed she had a sexual encounter with Trump in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, in 2006.
Fast-forward 10 years and, as he ran for office, she was hawking her story.
The details, as heard in this trial, were that she had met Trump at a golf tournament, and he had invited her to dinner.
She arrived at his hotel suite to find him dressed in satin pyjamas, until she asked him to change.
At one point, he produced a magazine, and she told the court she spanked him "right on the butt".
Later, she emerged from the bathroom to find him lying on the bed in a T-shirt and boxer shorts, and they ended up having sex.
Trump denies the liaison took place.
Her plan to sell her story was communicated to Trump by David Pecker, former publisher of the National Enquirer magazine.
He was a friend of Trump and operated a "catch and kill" scheme on his behalf, to catch negative stories and kill them before they could be published.
He'd already paid $150,000 (£117,000) to silence Karen McDougal, a Playboy model with a story of a 10-month affair with Trump.
Sky News
