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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Allies of Donald Trump who backed him during his trial have been tapped for his administration.</li><li>Those supporters include JD Vance, Matt Gaetz, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Mike Waltz.</li></ul>When <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-election-criminal-cases-presidency-2024-11">Donald Trump</a> stood trial in his historic criminal <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-wins-stay-criminal-hush-money-case-2024-11">hush-money case</a> earlier this year, a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/which-republicans-attended-trump-hush-money-trial-2024-5#two-dozen-other-house-republicans-have-also-shown-up-8">bevy of GOP elites</a> flocked to a Manhattan courthouse in support of the former and now future president.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-hush-money-trial-verdict-2024-5">Trump was eventually found guilty</a> of all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.Four of the Trump loyalists who rallied behind him during the trial have already been tapped for roles in the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-white-house-staff-cabinet-picks-list-2024-11">president-elect's incoming administration</a>.Those Trump allies include:<div type="image" title="JD Vance in the background at Donald Trump's hush-money trial." height="4672" width="7008" msid="115315207" hostid="261" sizebytes="4054798"></div><h2 id="78a21a90-c648-45bc-be7c-1c5ab4427922">JD Vance</h2>Ohio Sen. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-vice-president-jd-vance-career-facts-2024-7">JD Vance</a> will become vice president in Trump's upcoming second administration.Back in May, toward the end of Trump's first criminal trial, Vance was among a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-melania-hush-money-trial-gop-support-court-2024-5">slew of Republican politicians</a> to mobilize around Trump as <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-hush-money-trial-charges-explained-narrative-as-jury-deliberates-2024-5">he routinely defended himself</a> to reporters in the hallway outside the 15th-floor downtown Manhattan courtroom where the trial was held.Vance was also the first vice presidential contender to show up at court for Trump."Does any reasonable, sensible person believe anything that Michael Cohen says? I don't think that they should," Vance told reporters on May 13 outside the courthouse after Cohen, Trump's ex-personal attorney-turned-nemesis, first took the witness stand.<div type="image" title="Matt Gaetz in the background at Donald Trump's hush-money trial." height="2666" width="4000" msid="115315198" hostid="261" sizebytes="2368954"></div><h2 id="ab7fe0d6-ce6e-4631-91d1-9142b7291b0f">Matt Gaetz</h2>Trump sent <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/matt-gaetz-trump-nomination-history-controversy-moments-mccarthy-2024-11">shockwaves</a> through Washington after he named Florida Rep. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-nominates-matt-gaetz-attorney-general-2024-11">Matt Gaetz</a> as his pick for attorney general.Gaetz was among an entourage of rank-and-file House Republicans who showed up at Trump's hush-money trial in support of the then-presidential hopeful."We're here of our own volition because there are things we can say that President Trump is unjustly not allowed to say," Gaetz said during a May 16 press conference outside the courthouse.The right-wing firebrand continued, "This is a corrupt judge. These are corrupted witnesses. This is a corrupt prosecution that belies any sense of the facts or the law. And so, we're going to keep speaking out against this."<div type="image" title="Vivek Ramaswamy in the background at Donald Trump's hush-money trial." height="2000" width="3000" msid="115315206" hostid="261" sizebytes="411208"></div><h2 id="25a82047-6a69-4ee6-904a-068de0af0d4f">Vivek Ramaswamy</h2>Ex-GOP presidential candidate <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-vivek-ramaswamy-doge-government-efficiency-what-us-spends-2024-11">Vivek Ramaswamy</a> is set to co-lead a new "Department of Government Efficiency" alongside fellow billionaire <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-doge-hiring-staff-how-to-apply-2024-11">Elon Musk</a>.When Ramaswamy, the tech entrepreneur, showed up to Trump's hush-money trial on May 14, he was considered as a vice presidential contender."This is a politicized persecution that is nakedly apparent," Ramaswamy told reporters at the time outside the courthouse.<div type="image" title="GOP politicians supported Trump outside of his hush-money trial." height="4000" width="6000" msid="115315204" hostid="261" sizebytes="803588"></div><h2 id="ba9ccba4-01b3-447e-91b2-90b201af4fdf">Mike Waltz</h2>Trump has tapped Florida Rep. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-cabinet-picks-so-far-loyalty-resumes-11">Mike Waltz</a> to serve as his next national security advisor.The congressman supported Trump in court during the hush-money trial on May 16."It's a shame our country has fallen to a place where NY Democrats have weaponized the courts to interfere with our election," Waltz said in a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://x.com/michaelgwaltz/status/1791089100323278982">post</a> on X at the time. "President Trump will beat this and we will send him back to the White House this November!"

These Trump loyalists named to roles in the new administration once flocked to a courtroom for his criminal trial

The <keyword id="19895782" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Election-Commission" source="keywords">Election Commission</keyword> has received eight applications from aggrieved <keyword id="19902220" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="candidates" source="keywords">candidates</keyword>, including those from the <keyword id="19894848" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="BJP" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="BJP" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="BJP">BJP</keyword> and the <keyword id="19895371" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Congress" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Congress" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="Congress">Congress</keyword>, for verification of tampering or modification in micro-controller chips embedded in the EVMs post declaration of Lok Sabha election results on June 4. Terming the suspicion of manipulation of the electronic voting machines "unfounded", the <keyword id="19895345" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Supreme-Court" source="keywords">Supreme Court</keyword> had on April 26 rejected the demand for reverting to the old paper ballot system. But at the same time, the top court had opened a window for the aggrieved unsuccessful candidates securing second and third places in the poll results and allowed them to seek verification of micro-controller chips embedded in five per cent EVMs per assembly constituency on a written request upon the payment of a fee to the poll panel. BJP's Ahmednagar (Maharashtra) candidate Sujay Vikhe-Patil has sought verification of the machines from 40 <keyword id="20300567" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="polling-stations" source="keywords">polling stations</keyword>. Vikhe-Patil had lost to Nilesh Lanke of NCP (Sharad Pawar) faction. A YSRCP and a DMDK candidate too have applied for the verification, according to data shared by the poll panel. According to the EC, eight parliamentary seats spread across six states are involved. The total number of polling stations for which verification has been sought is 92. Candidates who come second or third and seek verification of the EVMs will have to pay Rs 47,200 per EVM set, according to the standard operating procedure issued by the EC on June 1. According to the EC's Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), the cost submitted by manufacturers BEL and ECIL to carry out EVM "check and verification" is Rs 40,000 (plus 18 per cent GST) per set of EVM. "In addition to the cost incurred by the manufacturers, there are also administrative costs like cost of labour to shift the units, CCTV coverage, electricity charges, videography costs and various other operational costs at the district election officer level," the document said. It, however, said to make the <keyword id="21143428" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="verification-process" source="keywords">verification process</keyword> "more accessible" and inclusive in compliance to the referred mandate of the Supreme Court, it is decided that instead of going purely by the actual economic costs incurred, the administrative expenditure on <keyword id="22122362" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="EVM-verification" source="keywords">EVM verification</keyword> will be treated as "election expenditure and borne by the central or state government, as the case may be". "Accordingly, the administrative charges will be waived for the applicants -- the same shall not be charged to the applicants," it noted. The charges for EVM verification to be paid by the applicant candidate is for the current financial year 2024-25 -- till March 31, 2025, it said. An EVM set has at least one Ballot Unit, one Control Unit and a <keyword id="19975285" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="vvpat" source="keywords">VVPAT</keyword> machine. Separately, YSRCP and BJD candidates from Andhra Pradesh and Odisha respectively have also applied for EVM check following the announcement of assembly results on June 4. Assembly polls in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh were held along with the Lok Sabha elections. In the verification exercise for assembly poll results, total assembly constituencies involved are three where verification has been sought in 26 polling stations. According to the SOP, the concerned state chief electoral officer (CEO) was required to communicate to the manufacturers the consolidated list of applicants within 30 days of the date of declaration of results -- by July 4. The CEOs have already conveyed the same to the manufacturers 15 days ahead of the schedule, the EC said. The technical SOP enumerating the methodology and steps for checking and verification of burnt memory/ micro-controller of the EVM units will be issued by the EC in due course.

EC receives applications for EVM verification on 8 LS seats in 6 states

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The United States is preparing for civil unrest surrounding the election.</li><li>Election Day itself isn't as high of a risk as the postelection period, analysts say.</li></ul>The turmoil that took place after the last US presidential election has left its mark.So this time around, as Election Day looms, businesses and governments around the country are preparing in advance — especially if the results are close.The consensus going into Election Day is that will be the case.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/harris-trump-presidential-election-swing-state-polls-sun-belt-2024-10">Seven swing states</a> offer multiple avenues for each candidate to win. And the final polls have largely shown the race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump as a virtual tie nationally.Glen Kucera, an executive at Allied Universal, a private security company, told Business Insider that his clientele are concerned enough to seek more resources to protect themselves and their businesses."The threat is kind of imminent and everywhere," Kucera said. "We're trying to get ahead of the threat."In the final stretch before Election Day, it seems like everyone — from voter advocacy groups and election officials to risk management and security companies — is preparing for civil unrest."I think what is also now on people's minds is the emotion, the anger that goes with some of these elections," Kucera said. "We're being deployed to try to figure all those imminent threats out and try to protect the public as we go into this election."But just how high is the risk?<h2 id="6f2d6248-0787-4c0f-9dc3-5d53c2aad9c9">Election Day isn't the biggest worry</h2>Election Day itself isn't likely to be the most high-risk day for unrest because there will be extensive protective measures taken, said Rachel Brown, an expert on violence, hate speech, and civic engagement at Over Zero, which works to deter identity-based violence."I wouldn't expect us to see a high level of organized violence. People should feel safe voting, and if there is any danger, it's likely to be very highly localized, such as a single person taking action where there seem to be groups trying to mobilize," Brown said on Friday at a press panel hosted by the National Task Force on Election Crises (NTFEC), a cross-partisan election organization.That appears to be the case in Washington and Oregon, where authorities are searching for what they say is a lone actor responsible for placing incendiary devices on at least two ballot drop boxes, burning hundreds of ballots. Officials in Clark County, Washington, where some 488 ballots were damaged, said in a press release that they have been in contact with the majority of the voters affected to issue them replacement ballots.<div type="image" title="A ballot box was damaged in Multnomah County in Portland, Oregon." height="1500" width="2250" msid="114923430" hostid="261" sizebytes="146584"></div>There are protections in place for the voting process, voters, and election workers, Brown said. Voter intimidation is criminal and prosecutable, and locally, voting sites are preparing for any incidents, including swatting attacks, where a fake call is made to law enforcement to trigger an armed response, Brown said."Some of the threats that many of us aren't even thinking about day to day, election officials are working day in and day out to prevent and then respond to," Chris Crawford, an NTFEC staffer and policy strategist at Protect Democracy, said at the panel. "There are remedies when activities like this arise that election officials can still try to ensure that every person can have their votes submitted and counted."The greater risk is likely postelection, when the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-kamala-harris-preparing-legal-challenges-election-decided-court-2024-8">results may be decided in courts</a> instead of on election night. Then, there's the waiting game until Congress counts the electoral votes on January 6, followed by the Presidential Inauguration Ceremony on January 20.Brown said she is "most concerned" about a spike in conspiracy theories and threats to state capitals, vote count locations, and the individuals who oversee them.Anticipating such unrest after the election, businesses in Portland and other cities have begun boarding up their windows."Violence tends to happen to target the process and to contest results," Brown said. "We know the dates that are relevant in the process and are able to anticipate where that might happen, but in a close election, we could see the use of violence or intimidation to attempt to sway how the results are processed."<h2 id="39042411-d542-4c03-b120-8bb15025a411">How great is the risk?</h2>Verisk, a data analytics and risk management company, ranked the United States among the five most high-risk countries for civil unrest, which could also lead to extensive insured losses, in the next year. Brazil, Colombia, Chile, and South Africa rounded out the list, with France, Greece, and Spain the riskiest in Europe.Verisk wrote in an October analysis that election-related violence is rare in the United States and that the January 6 riot in 2021 was "a standout protest event in US history." The company said the peaceful 2022 midterm elections showed that the threat of civil violence remained comparatively low.Emotions run higher during presidential elections, however, and the company's Strikes Riots and Civil Commotion Predictive Model found that the tension and political polarization could reach a boiling point, sparking unrest in urban centers like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston."Not only is the underlying SRCC risk higher than in January 2021, the potential for flashpoints to ignite civil unrest is also greater," Torbjorn Soltvedt, principal analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, said in a press release.Robert Munks, Verisk's head of research for the Americas, said that risks may also rise following the election during the certification processes."Crucially, the risk of election-related unrest will rise substantially if the outcome of the election is tightly contested," Munks said, "particularly should Trump lose to Harris."

The US is bracing for civil unrest around the election. But just how high is the risk?

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Elon Musk plans to remain a major force in American politics even after this election.</li><li>He says his super PAC will "keep going" after this election and is "preparing for the midterms."</li></ul><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk">Elon Musk</a> signaled on Tuesday that he plans to remain a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-trump-gop-spending-130-million-2024-10">major player</a> in American politics, even after the 2024 election.At the end of an <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://x.com/i/spaces/1OwxWNozYAAJQ">X Space</a> on Tuesday evening, Musk told listeners that America PAC, the super PAC that the billionaire businessman has funded with at least $119 million, will "keep going after this election."Musk said that his super PAC was "preparing for the midterms and any intermediate elections, as well as looking at elections at the district attorney level."America PAC has spent more than $152 million on the presidential election, according to the latest filings. It's also spent more than $19 million boosting GOP candidates in 18 <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-super-pac-spending-competitive-house-races-republicans-2024-9">competitive House races</a> around the country.The billionaire businessman signaled that he wanted to combat the influence of George Soros, a liberal philanthropist who's drawn the ire of conservatives, has had on district attorney races."Something has to be done to kind of counter the damage that Soros has done to the American system," said Musk. "America PAC's going aim to weigh in heavily on the midterms and intermediate elections, as well as just doing common sense stuff like having DAs who prosecute violent criminals who are obviously a danger to people."Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, a progressive prosecutor who received significant financial support from Soros, recently <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/judge-could-halt-elon-musks-1m-america-pac-giveaway-2024-10">sued to block</a> Musk's controversial $1 million giveaway. A judge <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/philadelphia-da-elon-musk-1m-giveaway-has-actually-paid-up-2024-11">ruled in Musk's favor</a> on Monday.If Musk remains a major pro-GOP electoral force, Democrats could try to make him into a boogeyman along the lines of the Koch brothers before him.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sue-altman-elon-musk-new-jersey-house-tom-kean-2024-10">Sue Altman</a>, a Democrat running for Congress in New Jersey, has already tried to turn America PAC's spending into an issue in her race.

Elon Musk says his super PAC won't go away after the 2024 election

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Trump will try to use his new status as president-elect to his advantage in NY, experts tell BI.</li><li>Trump is expected to ask immediately to adjourn his hush-money sentencing, they predicted Wednesday.</li></ul>Donald Trump will use <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/election-results-trump-harris-presidential-election-2024-11">his new status as president-elect</a> in a renewed effort to challenge his upcoming sentencing on his Manhattan hush-money conviction, legal experts predicted Wednesday.Trump, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-election-criminal-cases-presidency-2024-11">the only US president to be convicted</a> of a felony, is scheduled to be sentenced November 26. He faces as little as no jail time and as much as four years prison for falsifying business records to retroactively hide a $130,000 hush-money payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels made two weeks before the 2016 election.As Candidate Trump, he <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/delay-trump-sentencing-is-win-for-campaign-and-his-wallet-2024-9">fought to delay his sentencing</a> repeatedly, arguing that he was too busy and that his responsibilities as the GOP standard-bearer were too important for the case to interrupt.He'll push that argument even harder as president-elect, as his lawyers continue to pursue <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-now-says-scotus-immunity-voids-entire-hush-money-indictment-2024-7">time-consuming legal challenges</a> through the state and federal appellate courts and potentially to the US Supreme Court, as legal experts said he is entitled to do."He's definitely going to throw that around now," said Charles Solomon, who was a Manhattan-based state supreme court justice for 33 years before his 2017 retirement."Wouldn't you use that argument if you were president-elect? Of course he's going to argue that he's about to become leader of the free world, and this is a special case, something that's never happened before," Solomon added."What he's going to try to do is adjourn, adjourn, adjourn," while his lawyers challenge his indictment, trial, and conviction on presidential-immunity grounds, Solomon predicted."And if he doesn't get an adjournment, he can appeal that," the former judge added. "He can seek delays in so many ways."<div type="image" title="Donald Trump at his hush-money trial in Manhattan." height="1785" width="2500" msid="115031144" hostid="261" sizebytes="180074"></div><h2 id="73807c3a-d96a-4b1b-a948-13788ab2fc24">Trump's legal challenges to his hush-money case</h2>Manhattan prosecutors should expect Trump to file a request in the next few days asking the trial judge to adjourn the November 26 sentencing because he's too busy ahead of assuming office, experts predicted Wednesday.The judge, New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, is meanwhile weighing a previous defense request to toss the entire indictment, or at least the conviction. Trump's defense team has argued prosecutors exposed grand jurors and the trial jury to evidence that would be considered "official-act" evidence — meaning evidence involving actions Trump took in his official capacity as president — now barred under the SCOTUS presidential immunity opinion.Prosecutors with the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg have countered that any official-act evidence used in their case <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trumps-immunity-no-bearing-hush-money-conviction-da-bragg-2024-7">amounts to "harmless error."</a>Merchan has said he will issue a written decision on Tuesday, November 12, a week before the sentencing date. Trump's lawyers have said they are prepared to file an immediate state-court appeal if he loses.In a separate effort, Trump is fighting to have the case moved to federal court in Manhattan, again on presidential immunity grounds. A US District Court judge rejected that effort in September, and it remains under appeal by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.If Merchan wants to proceed with the sentencing — and he may view himself as required to on speedy-trial grounds — Trump can seek a delay in the state and federal appellate courts, said Michel Paradis, an attorney who teaches national security and constitutional law at Columbia Law School."Any of those tracks can get you to the US Supreme Court pretty fast, if that's his goal," Paradis said.<div type="image" title="juan merchan courtroom sketch" height="2268" width="3024" msid="115031148" hostid="261" sizebytes="614716"></div><h2 id="a00f56b0-6ecf-421f-bdfe-956dd498f0ba">A 'unique place in this nation's history'</h2>Merchan addressed the unique circumstances of prosecuting, trying, and sentencing Trump in September, when he agreed to delay the sentencing for a second time.The original sentencing date was July 11, Merchan said in <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25100960-ny-v-trump-merchan-sentence-delay-20240906">a four-page decision</a> that set the November date."However, on July 1, 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States rendered a historic and intervening decision in Trump v. United States," a decision the defense needed time to respond to, Merchan wrote.He decided to postpone the second sentencing date, September 18, until after the election in recognition of "the unique facts and circumstances of this case," Merchan wrote at the time."This matter is one that stands alone, in a unique place in this Nation's history," the judge added, alluding to Trump's presidential candidacy.Trump's prosecution was already unprecedented when Trump was only a nominee and former president, said Mark Bederow, a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor for the Manhattan district attorney's office.Trump's election "takes it to a whole other level," Bederow said. "There's no playbook for any of this," he added. "A state judge is now potentially setting himself up to sentence the most powerful federal officer in the world."<div type="image" title="Donald Trump sits at the defense table at his Manhattan hush-money trial. He is flanked by attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove." height="1667" width="2500" msid="115031145" hostid="261" sizebytes="199518"></div>Even if the sentencing happens before Inauguration Day, it's highly unlikely that as a 78-year-old first-time non-violent offender, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nyc-judges-weigh-in-on-trump-hush-money-sentencing-2024">Trump will get a jail sentence</a>, former New York City judges have told Business Insider."What's Merchan going to do? He's not going to argue that the next president should go to state prison," said Solomon, the former judge. "He's not going to have him do community service on weekends, and pick up trash in Central Park when he's not dealing with the Joint Chiefs of Staff."Any sentence Merchan metes out would be put on hold, or "stayed," pending Trump's appeal of his conviction, which itself would take years, experts said.Assuming Trump's sentencing delay bids fail, "Merchan will sentence Trump and Trump will appeal the conviction and sentence, first through the New York appellate courts and then the United States Supreme Court," said former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani."It's more likely that Trump is fined and sentenced to no time and he has to appeal the conviction. This is all unprecedented," Rahmani, the president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, added as a caveat. "And we're in uncharted legal waters."Trump's campaign and lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Bragg did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

'Adjourn, adjourn, adjourn' — Trump is expected to use new status as president-elect to delay hush-money sentencing 

After a full day of meetings at Julie, a startup that sells a morning-after pill, CEO Amanda E/J Morrison jumped a flight from New York to Boston and headed to a small, private college, where a trivia night awaited her. Dozens of students shuffled into a classroom with plates of chicken tenders, Texas toast, and bright blue boxes of the emergency contraceptive.Morrison had worked with the Planned Parenthood Generation Action club at Suffolk University to sponsor the event, part of Julie's efforts to win a new generation of consumers. However, she had another, more pressing reason for being there. Julie is doing more campus events to clear up some of the confusion about emergency contraception — namely, that it isn't medication abortion.Standing at the head of the classroom, Morrison read off a projector screen, "Emergency contraceptives like Julie are legal in how many states? 25, 48, 50, 37." Students tapped their answers into a quiz app. "It's 37," Lily, a spirited sophomore, whispered to her teammates.In a minute, the correct answer appeared on screen, and the quiet chatter rose to a clamor. Half the teams said 37 states."Fifty states, guys. It's everywhere," Morrison said.When asked why she said 37, Lily said, "Just the way things are going."In states that outlaw abortion, some patients and politicians worry that contraception could be in legal jeopardy, too. There's no federal law preserving access to birth control, rather, a patchwork of state laws and court decisions holding it in place. Another Trump term <a target="_blank" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/29/trump-birth-control-contraception-00159555">could change that</a>.For Julie, "that's the million dollar question of this election," Morrison said.<div type="image" title="TK" height="2000" width="2667" msid="114460252" hostid="261" sizebytes="193282"></div>"We're not worried about some big ban happening in the first hundred days. But how those decisions trickle down — what is presented in Congress as a bill, how the Supreme Court reacts, what trickles down to the states — becomes a real secondary concern," she said.Founders of women's health startups feel doubly invested in this election, one of the closest presidential races of the century. Half a dozen founders and investors of women's health companies, all women, told Business Insider that if Vice President Kamala Harris wins, it's business as usual. They said another Trump victory creates uncertainty for reproductive health startups, from period trackers to online abortion clinics to embryo banks.<div type="image" title="TK" height="1610" width="2147" msid="114460254" hostid="261" sizebytes="109206"></div>While Harris's presidential campaign has been marked by unrelenting support for reproductive healthcare, including contraception and abortions, Trump's position has been a moving target.The former president suggested <a target="_blank" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/29/trump-birth-control-contraception-00159555">in May</a> that he was "looking at" restrictions on birth control, then walked that position back in a social media post later that day. During the September presidential debate, he called himself a "leader" on IVF, a move that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/09/12/trump-ivf-gop-roe-abortion-00178760">angered</a> parts of his base that have sought to restrict fertility treatments. He said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-says-he-would-veto-federal-abortion-ban/">in October</a> that he'd veto a national abortion ban after deflecting the question for months but would support states ordaining their own abortion bans.Trump's waffling on reproductive rights has put founders of women's health startups on notice. "It is one of the major issues that we're discussing and that our CEOs are focused on — how to continue to provide care to women, especially women of childbearing age," said Trish Costello, founder of Portfolia, an investing platform that pools money from female accredited investors.The day after the presidential debate, Mika Eddy was vibrating with the weight of the election. The race's outcome could drastically change reproductive rights, foreign policy, gun safety, and climate law — all issues close to Eddy, a 35-year-old Californian and mother of two.But Eddy also has skin in the game as the chief executive officer of Malama Health, a startup helping women with gestational diabetes access better care. Its doula network assists patients on Medicaid with applying for benefits such as diabetes-friendly meals and medical transport.Eddy worries that if Trump wins, he would restrict access to the coverage and benefits that her users rely on, weakening one of Malama Health's key services."There is this common misperception that, 'we're in California, we're in a liberal state, and so we're safe.' And I don't think that's the case," Eddy said.For some founders of women's health startups, this election is more than a political contest; it has ramifications for their livelihoods. With so much at stake, they're planning how to handle a scenario where states or courts might impose more limits on reproductive rights.<div type="image" title="US Vice President Kamala Harris taking pictures with some young teen girls." height="3000" width="4000" msid="114460257" hostid="261" sizebytes="755478"></div><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/abortion-telemedicine-startup-hey-jane-roe-v-wade-2022-10">Hey Jane</a> is a telehealth startup that connects patients to medical providers who offer online appointments and delivers abortion pills to their doorsteps. A year after the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade, ending the constitutional right to abortion, Hey Jane started selling birth control and treatments for urinary tract infections, yeast infections, and herpes, both oral and genital. The new products cushion the business against a "plan E" scenario of a national abortion ban, said Carli Sapir, a Hey Jane investor and founding partner of Amboy Ventures."We're thinking about how to make sure those other verticals are in a good place to continue carrying the company forward," said Sapir.This time last year, one of Hey Jane's rivals, Choix, shut down <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vcs-backing-online-abortion-sites-say-its-good-business-2021-9">after three years in service</a>. The company said in a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/choix-closes-virtual-doors-launches-130300919.html">press release</a> that "the stigma and politics surrounding abortion care posed significant fundraising challenges." It raised a $1 million seed round in 2022.While direct providers of abortion, like Hey Jane, could see major restrictions or shutdowns to their core businesses if Trump returns to the White House, a wider range of companies expect to feel the ripple effects. Startups that seem removed from the front lines, such as those involved with period tracking and fertility treatments, are also preparing for potential challenges.<div type="image" title="Then-President Donald Trump addresses the anti-abortion &quot;March for Life&quot;" height="750" width="1000" msid="114460247" hostid="261" sizebytes="53678"></div>If a national abortion ban were to occur, apps like Flo Health or Clue might face increased scrutiny, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-lux-capital-deena-shakir-wrote-childrens-book-2024-9">Deena Shakir</a>, a general partner at Lux Capital. These apps track when women have their periods and when they miss them. In today's post-Roe America, privacy experts worry that such data could be used to suggest that someone has had or is thinking about having an abortion, potentially putting women at risk of prosecution in certain states.The stakes could be equally high for companies involved with fertility treatments.The demand for services like in vitro fertilization, or IVF, and surrogacy has been climbing for years as people have kids later in life and infertility rates increase. That's birthed a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fertility-startups-booming-despite-market-downturn-2023-6">global fertility market</a> that includes companies that operate clinics to provide services like egg freezing and IVF, companies that run labs and tests, and firms that help people pay for the procedures.However, the industry's future is uncertain following attacks on abortion access. The end of Roe v. Wade opened up the legal terrain for states to interfere with access to other reproductive care, said Lauren Berson Sugarman, founder and chief executive officer of Conceive, a startup that offers personalized fertility guidance, including text support from nurses and peer groups.In Alabama, the state Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos should be considered children. That put patients and fertility clinics on edge that they could be criminally charged for destroying extra embryos. A handful of Alabama clinics paused IVF treatments while patients throughout the South began moving their embryos to jurisdictions with more stable legal protections."We see a lot of patients come to us and say, should I move my embryos out of a red state? Because what happens if they come after IVF?" said Berson Sugarman.The push for "embryo rights" could have wide-reaching repercussions for startups like Maven Clinic or Carrot Fertility, which offer fertility benefits for employers, and TMRW Life Sciences, a biotech company creating robots for the safe storage of frozen sperm, eggs, and embryos.Moreover, it could influence the type of research that startups conduct and where. Alice Zheng, a principal at women's health investor RH Capital, explains how the shifting legal landscape might affect companies like Vitra Labs. As a biotech startup working on developing eggs from stem cells for IVF, "they're doing really cutting-edge research for fertility, but they need to think very carefully about where they set up shop," Zheng said. "Some of their research might involve certain types of tissue, which is more closely scrutinized in some areas than others."<div type="image" title="TK" height="2000" width="2667" msid="114460250" hostid="261" sizebytes="243576"></div>Two years ago, in the hours after the Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to an abortion, Morrison's phone started ringing and didn't stop. Investors wanted to know if the ruling would kill Julie's launch in Walmart stores that fall. Job candidates wondered if the company would still exist in six months. Morrison's mom called, concerned for her daughter's future."For probably two weeks straight, I was just doing reassurance calls," Morrison said.While emergency contraception is not the abortion bill and is currently legal in all 50 states, it is continuously confused with the abortion pill, which can have damaging consequences. In June, the medical journal JAMA Network Open published a <a target="_blank" href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2820370?%20utm_source=For_The_Media">study</a> that found retail pharmacy fills of Plan B, a leading morning-after pill brand, fell by 65% in states with near-total abortion bans the year after the Dobbs decision, partly due to clinic closures and confusion about its legal status.That confusion could threaten Julie's sales, and puts the onus of the company to better educate consumers. It sponsors events like trivia nights and sorority house brunches. It has enlisted TikTok influencers to share videos of their drugstore hauls showing how easy it is to buy Julie. In one video, a young woman going back-to-school shopping walks off with a two-count pack of the emergency contraceptive pill. The caption reads, "double majors, not double strollers."Other startups are urging consumers to fight for reproductive rights at the polls. Eddy's Malama Health has reminders to register to vote in its app and will tell users where their nearest polling station is closer to election day. The company asks for their ZIP codes during onboarding, Eddy explained."When you have a baby, you're like, 'I want to vote, but I don't know where to go,'" Eddy said. She hopes the emails will get more pregnant women and new moms to head to the polls. Eddy added that the emails won't support a candidate and are meant as a "nonpartisan resource."<div type="image" title="TK" height="2000" width="2667" msid="114460255" hostid="261" sizebytes="192114"></div>Julie's content isn't political, either. It's not trying to change any minds about abortion rights. The goal is simply to spread awareness among young adults that emergency contraception helps prevent pregnancy, not end it. This way, Morrison said, a woman who is anti-abortion and has unprotected sex can feel confident taking Julie knowing that she isn't compromising her abortion stance.It was past 9 o'clock on a weekday, and the competition at trivia night was heating up. Students in teams of two or three screamed with delight as they watched their names climb the leaderboard. They competed to win prizes like sex toys and T-shirts with the phrase, "A Better Morning After.""Morning-after pills end pregnancy. True or false," the club president called out.Thirty seconds later, the screen showed that every team had answered correctly.Morrison pumped both fists in the air, beaming her approval.<a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/melia-russell">Melia Russell</a> is a senior correspondent at Insider covering startups and venture capital. She can be reached via the encrypted messaging app Signal at +1 603-913-3085 and email at <a target="_blank" href="mailto:mrussell@businessinsider.com">mrussell@businessinsider.com</a>.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/rebecca-torrence">Rebecca Torrence</a> is a correspondent at Business Insider writing about healthcare startups and venture capital. Send her an email at <a target="_blank" class="" href="mailto:rtorrence@businessinsider.com">rtorrence@businessinsider.com</a>.

'The million-dollar question of this election': Women's health startups are confronting a shifting legal landscape   

Senior BJP leader and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister <keyword id="6355042" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Devendra-Fadnavis" source="Orion">Devendra Fadnavis</keyword> will take decisions on <keyword id="549985" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="seat-sharing" source="Orion">seat-sharing</keyword> and <keyword id="22753690" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="negotiations-with-allies" source="Orion">negotiations with allies</keyword> for the upcoming assembly polls in the state, a party leader has said. The move aims to prevent undesired delays by streamlining preparations for the assembly elections due in a few months, BJP's Mumbai unit chief <keyword id="6367689" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ashish-Shelar" source="Orion">Ashish Shelar</keyword> told reporters on Sunday. "The core committee (of the state unit) has met in Mumbai to delegate all decision-making powers concerning seat-sharing and the selection of assembly constituencies to Fadnavis," he said. Party observer and Union minister Bhupender Yadav, BJP national secretary Vinod Tawde, Union minister and Mumbai North MP Piyush Goyal also attended the meeting. Of the 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra, the BJP won 104 in 2019. Shelar confirmed finalisation of the "formula for winning, besides the planning and seat-sharing arrangements with the allies". "Fadnavis has been granted full authority in this regard," he said. The BJP-led Mahayuti, also comprising Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena and the NCP headed by Ajit Pawar, won only 17 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state in the recent parliamentary polls. The BJP's tally came down to 9 from 23 five years ago. The Maha Vikas Aghadi, consisting of the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP), bagged 30 seats. Shelar said, "We have decided to save time by streamlining the planning, discussions, and decision-making processes with all the NDA constituents to finalise the candidates. Once this is done, we can begin preparations for the assembly polls. The list of candidates will be released at the appropriate time." After the BJP's Lok Sabha tally came down to 9 in Maharashtra, Fadnavis had offered to quit the deputy CM's post to enable him to focus on party work ahead of assembly elections. Later, after a party meeting where state BJP legislators passed a resolution reposing faith in him, Fadnavis said he would continue to work.

Maharashtra polls: Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis to decide on seat-sharing, negotiations with allies

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Mark Cuban on CNBC said the presidential campaign is now a fight between Kamala Harris and Elon Musk.</li><li>Cuban said the outcome of the election hinges on voter turnout, which Musk has made a priority.</li></ul>Billionaire businessman Mark Cuban on Monday said the presidential campaign has become a battle between <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kamala-harris">Vice President Kamala Harris</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-ceo-elon-musk">Tesla CEO Elon Musk</a> rather than Donald Trump.Speaking on CNBC's "Squawk Box," Cuban said Harris is fighting against Musk, a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-trump-america-super-pac-2024-10">campaign surrogate for Trump</a>, as much as she is against her political rival, saying that the outcome of this year's election will hinge on voter turnout — an issue Musk has made a priority in recent weeks."Really it comes down to 'get out the vote,'" Cuban, who has <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-cuban-business-leaders-for-kamala-harris-2024-10">campaigned on behalf of Harris</a>, said of the election. "And the crazy thing is, it's the Harris campaign versus Elon — not even versus Trump."Musk, who first <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-endorses-trump-after-pennsylvania-rally-incident-2024-7">endorsed Trump</a> in July before launching his <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-trump-superpac-donations-politics-2024-10">super PAC</a> in support of the former president, has prioritized increasing voter turnout ahead of the election.This month, Musk's America PAC offered $100 to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1847115389676740899">registered Pennsylvania voters</a> who signed a petition supporting free speech and the right to bear arms and $47 to <a target="_blank" rel=" nofollow" class="" href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1843133043961381178">swing state voter referrals</a> who also signed up. On Saturday, he also pledged to give away <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-rewards-petition-supporters-1m-check-trump-pac-2024-10">$1 million checks</a> to randomly selected petition signers each day until the election on November 5.Brian Hughes, a Trump campaign senior advisor, told Business Insider: "When you have dozens of industry leaders like Elon Musk and David Sacks among the long list of supporters, it is a recognition that President Trump is the clear choice."Cuban, Musk, and representatives for the Harris campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider. In his appearance on CNBC, Cuban described Musk's payments for registering voters as "innovative" and "desperate." The two billionaire businessmen have repeatedly traded public jabs over their support of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-cuban-elon-musk-feud-donald-trump-loyalty-2024-9">opposing candidates</a> in this year's election."You only do that because you think you have to, but you know, using the sweepstakes is not a bad idea," Cuban said. "Whether or not it'll work is a whole 'nother thing. It just as easily could backfire, but you don't know until you try."Election law and political science experts who spoke to Business Insider said the $1 million giveaway <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-1-million-giveaway-legal-questions-2024-10">may not be legal,</a> as election laws make it illegal to pay people to register to vote.Other election law experts have argued that Musk's payments to registered voters fall may into a legal gray area because the eligibility requirement hinges on signing the petition, not specifically registering to vote.Matthew Alvarez, a partner at Rutan and Tucker law firm specializing in election law matters, told BI that while the payments may not be entirely legal, Musk will unlikely face criminal penalties for his actions.Musk hasn't publicly responded to suggestions the payments may not work or could be illegal, instead <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1848468759700508992">posting</a> on his social media platform X that "The foaming-at-the-mouth reaction from radical leftists is worth it."

Mark Cuban says the election is now a battle between Kamala Harris and Elon Musk, not Donald Trump

<ul class="summary-list"><li>North Carolina is a critical part of Trump's electoral calculus for winning a second term.</li><li>But Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson's troubles could have a "reverse coattail" effect among Republicans.</li></ul>North Carolina Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson — a staunch conservative and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-robinson-north-carolina-governors-race-past-comments-trump-2024-2024-3">ally</a> of former President Donald Trump — is no stranger to controversy.During a 2019 Facebook Live video, Robinson said abortion "is about killing the child because you weren't responsible enough to keep your skirt down." In 2023, he said God "formed" him to fight against LGBTQ+ acceptance while also <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.wral.com/story/god-formed-me-to-fight-lgbtq-issues-nc-s-mark-robinson-says-as-2024-governor-s-race-looms/20779390/">noting</a> that it made him "sick" to see any church fly a Rainbow flag. And earlier this year, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/mark-robinson-transgender-comments-spark-gop-backlash-rcna138610">he called for the arrest</a> of transgender women who choose to use women's bathrooms.Despite Robinson's history of polarizing comments, he easily won the state's GOP gubernatorial primary in March. But <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/19/politics/kfile-mark-robinson-black-nazi-pro-slavery-porn-forum/index.html">in a bombshell CNN story</a> published last week, the network reported that Robinson made a series of racist, antisemitic, and sexually explicit comments on a pornographic site more than a decade ago — before he was in public office.On the site Nude Africa, Robinson <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kamala-harris-mark-robinson-donald-trump-advertisement-north-carolina-governor-2024-9">describes himself</a> as a "black NAZI!" and argues that "slavery is not bad," among other remarks.Robinson has denied the accusation and vowed to remain in the race. But even before the report was published, he was behind in the polls against his Democratic opponent, state Attorney General Josh Stein. Meanwhile, Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are locked in a tight race in North Carolina.Here's a look at how Robinson's scandal could not only imperil Trump's ability to win the Tar Heel State but also potentially obliterate the former president's chances to win the general election.<h2 id="aae2c330-7b3b-4c15-a4c7-ca21beb74295">The swing-state dilemma</h2>Robinson rose to prominence in GOP circles after his <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmE9tK-O58Q">forceful defense of gun rights</a> during a 2018 address to the Greensboro City Council went viral. In his speech, he decried what he said were attempts to enact gun control, arguing that criminals would simply ignore the laws.The speech helped pave the way for Robinson's 2020 victory in a race for lieutenant governor, which he won by three percentage points even as Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper was reelected to a second term.That year, Trump also won North Carolina — albeit narrowly — against now-President Joe Biden. Anchored by the support of rural conservatives, the then-president eked out a one-point victory in what has become one of the nation's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/battleground-states-2024-presidential-election-road-white-house-2022-12">premier swing states</a>.Robinson's political brand is rooted in a more confrontational Republican style, though. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/north-carolina-governors-race-robinson-stein-cooper-abortion-guns-lgbtq-2023-4">His biggest advantage</a> is with social conservatives, not the sort of college-educated suburban voters who have turned away from the GOP in the Trump era.It's encapsulated in earlier polling. A <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/08/17/us/elections/times-siena-poll-north-carolina-likely-electorate.html">New York Times/Siena College poll</a> released in August showed Stein leading Robinson 49% to 39% among likely voters. A <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://poll.qu.edu/poll-release?releaseid=3904">Quinnipiac University poll</a> released earlier this month showed Stein up by 10 points (51% to 41%) among likely voters. And a recent <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://emersoncollegepolling.com/september-2024-swing-state-polls-trump-and-harris-locked-in-tight-presidential-race/">Emerson College poll</a> showed Stein ahead of Robinson by eight points (48% to 40%) among likely voters.<div type="image" title="Donald Trump at a campaign rally." height="3819" width="5728" msid="113573925" hostid="261" sizebytes="357806"></div>Robinson's campaign has stumbled in the state for some time — and it's unclear what the ramifications of the latest allegations will be for his candidacy. But state Treasurer Dale Folwell, who lost to Robinson in this year's gubernatorial primary, last week <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/election/article292757504.html">told the News &amp; Observer</a> that taxpayers and donors were "getting fleeced" by the lieutenant governor.Such a remark from a fellow statewide GOP official usually doesn't bode well for party unity. And Trump is now caught in that web.<h2 id="a28321c7-1a5e-471b-b82b-af47656c6e29">A tale of 'reverse coattails'</h2>When popular candidates are running at the top of the ticket — notably in presidential, gubernatorial, or Senate races — they often boost down-ballot candidates.A strong candidate leading the party on the ballot can have an immeasurable impact on turnout and enthusiasm for candidates who need help getting over the finish line.In 2020, Robinson outperformed Trump in North Carolina, but the former president also brought out voters who undoubtedly boosted the lieutenant governor in areas where he wasn't as well known.Now, Robinson's latest scandal threatens Trump's hold on a state that Harris has targeted since her campaign began in July. The vice president has reversed the slide that the party faced when Biden was the nominee, and recent polls taken in North Carolina have showed her tied with Trump or <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/08/17/us/elections/times-siena-poll-north-carolina-likely-electorate.html">with a slight lead</a>.Harris' competitiveness in the state is driven by her advantages with women, young voters, urban voters, and college-educated suburbanites. And she's running a distinctly pro-choice campaign, in contrast to Robinson — an anti-abortion champion who also <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://x.com/AdImpact_Pol/status/1819379051594711415">revealed last month</a> that his wife had an abortion 30 years ago.Pessimism over Robinson's campaign could depress Trump's numbers in the state, creating a "reverse coattail" effect — especially if Robinson loses by a sizable margin.The GOP is up against a Harris campaign that's flush with cash and has 26 field offices and over 200 paid staffers in North Carolina. The Harris campaign also released an ad seeking to tie Robinson to Trump, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFKkKJi7698">weaving in old footage</a> where the ex-president said the lieutenant governor was "better than Martin Luther King."Democrats believe that Harris' presence on the ballot will be able to help them in other races."[W]hat's very exciting to me is that we have a lot of people that are interested in the top of the ticket, but that are also getting educated about the importance of down-ballot," North Carolina Democratic Party chair Anderson Clayton <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc-podcast/why-is-this-happening/building-new-south-anderson-clayton-podcast-transcript-rcna170724">recently told MSNBC's Chris Hayes</a>.Should Harris win North Carolina and its 16 electoral votes, she'll likely already be on her way to a national victory, given the state's slight Republican lean in presidential races. However, although she'd clearly like to do so, Harris doesn't have to win the state to win the election.But North Carolina is critical for Trump. It has been a Southern anchor of support in his last two presidential runs. And the state's penchant for close elections is a reflection of just how much Robinson's woes could ultimately decide Trump's political fate.During a Saturday rally in Wilmington, Trump seemed to acknowledge that reality. Robinson was not present at the event. And the former president didn't mention the lieutenant governor's name.

Mark Robinson's scandal could cost Trump North Carolina's electoral votes — and the election

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A jury found Donald Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records on Thursday.</li><li>The historic criminal conviction of a US president raises several questions about Trump's future.</li></ul>Former President <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-hush-money-trial-verdict-2024-5">Donald Trump is officially a felon</a>.The historic Thursday verdict against <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trumps-jurors-hardly-look-at-him-trial-experts-good-sign-2024-4">Trump</a> represents the first time a US president has ever been criminally convicted.The unprecedented legal outcome raises several questions about Trump's future, especially as he <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-biden-agree-after-guilty-verdict-all-about-the-election-2024-5">prepares to battle </a>President Joe Biden for the presidency in November.<h2 id="c2334db5-1c95-4e13-8ede-faa5d0b1762b">What was Trump found guilty of?</h2>A <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-trial-jury-rain-metaphor-instructions-evidence-2024-5">Manhattan jury</a> found Trump guilty of 34 criminal counts of falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 hush-money payment to adult film actor <a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/who-is-stormy-daniels-porn-star-affair-donald-trump-2018-1">Stormy Daniels</a> days before the 2016 election.<h2 id="3a993d9e-37e5-4845-ad1b-a0b76d74560f">What did Trump pay hush money for?</h2><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/michael-cohen-quotes-trump-testimony-hush-money-trial-2024-5">Trump directed Michael Cohen</a>, his then-fixer, to pay Daniels $130,000 to buy her silence over a sexual encounter she alleges happened between the two at a Lake Tahoe hotel in 2006 during a celebrity golf tournament. Trump then reimbursed Cohen the funds — plus more to cover taxes and a bonus — in a series of payments throughout 2017, the jurors found. Trump has repeatedly denied the affair.<h2 id="aed6373a-a95d-4d0c-b164-78f9b3f798e8">Is Trump going to jail?</h2>Despite being found guilty on all charges, Trump is not expected to go to prison. His crimes are nonviolent offenses, and Trump has no previous criminal record and is an elderly man at 77 years old. Legal experts told Business Insider that Trump will more likely receive probation at his <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-sentencing-date-july-hush-money-trial-conviction-consequences-2024-5-2024-5">sentencing</a>, which is set for July 11.<h2 id="f8a482c2-ce35-476f-9fae-f397176af903">Can a president pardon himself?</h2>If Trump wins the election in November, he will have access to broad <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/supreme-court-justices-self-pardon-trump-immunity-hearing-2024-4">pardon powers</a>. However, that authority won't apply to this conviction. The president only has pardon powers over federal charges and Trump's hush-money trial played out in New York state court.<h2 id="0abe4763-765f-42a8-bda4-318fb0092aca">Can a felon run for president?</h2>Yes. The only three requirements for presidential candidates in the US Constitution are that they must be natural-born citizens, at least 35 years old, and have been US residents for at least 14 years. The 14th Amendment also forbids anyone from taking office who has engaged in insurrection against the US. Several states pushed to keep Trump off the 2024 ballot because of this stipulation. But earlier this year, the US Supreme Court ruled <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/scotus-rules-trump-eligibility-campaign-president-colorado-super-tuesday-2024-3">in favor of keeping the GOP frontrunner on the ballot. </a><h2 id="2aa00958-5265-48e3-b4b7-725d995bc3c3">Can Donald Trump still run for president?</h2>Yes. And he's already doubled down on trying to use Thursday's guilty verdict to his advantage. The former president <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-fundraises-guilty-verdict-mahattan-trial-34-counts-2024-5">immediately started fundraising after the verdict.</a><h2 id="850869ec-88b1-40df-9776-8ddbc0210f50">What was Trump's reaction to the verdict?</h2>Trump appeared furious about the jury's decision, baselessly accusing the trial of being "rigged" after hearing the verdict and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-reaction-hush-money-trial-guilty-verdict-2024-5">declaring himself innocent</a>."We didn't do a thing wrong. I'm a very innocent man," he told reporters, adding that the "real verdict is going to be <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-biden-agree-after-guilty-verdict-all-about-the-election-2024-5">November 5</a> by the people."<h2 id="03f76524-8607-4dc2-a118-e864056f9ac7">What was Michael Cohen's reaction to the verdict?</h2>Cohen, Trump's former lawyer who provided critical witness testimony in the hush-money-trial, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/michael-cohen-reaction-trump-verdict-guilty-statement-2024-5">celebrated the verdict</a>, telling Business Insider that it was "an important day for accountability and the rule of law.""While it has been a difficult journey for me and my family, the truth always matters," he said.<h2 id="f8a77240-b823-4449-b3d3-845aaaf7cb93">What was Biden's reaction to the verdict?</h2>President Joe Biden and his <a target="_blank" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/30/biden-campaign-trump-guilty-verdict-00160820">campaign</a> on Thursday were mostly muted in responding to the verdict, acknowledging that Trump still has a path to the presidency despite the conviction."There's only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: At the ballot box," Biden wrote <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/JoeBiden/status/1796292494151573855">on X</a>.<h2 id="227f16e9-4fe5-420a-8838-bd745f923916">What was Stormy Daniels' reaction to the verdict?</h2><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/who-is-stormy-daniels-porn-star-affair-donald-trump-2018-1">Daniels</a>, the adult film actress at the center of the entire case, has remained silent on the conviction, at least on social media. She did like an X post from comedian <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/kathygriffin/status/1796304232691458225">Kathy Griffin</a> Thursday evening, who wrote, "Thank you @StormyDaniels."

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