Trump immediately starts fundraising off guilty verdict in criminal case

Former President Donald Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts in the New York trial that has left him officially a convicted felon.

In a brief statement to the press outside the courtroom, Trump ranted that the country had "gone to hell" as a result of the verdict and the lack of immigration reform. He went on to attack the jury, the judge, and the district attorney.

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Behind the scenes, his social media blew up with statements, alleging everything was "rigged" and actually seeking to fundraise.

"I'm a political prisoner," a meme said on Trump's Truth Social page. There was a fake headline reading "BREAKING Corrupt NY Court Finds Trump Guilty."

A text message also went out, repeating his claim that the trial as a whole was "rigged" and that he was a "political prisoner."

Trump has not been taken into custody, nor is he in prison. Sentencing will take place July 11.

Trump has spent millions on his trial attorneys and legal advisers over the past several years.

The New York Daily News reported earlier this week that Trump has spent nearly $5 million in legal fees in the month of March alone. The piece speculated if it was the reason that Trump sold his $10 million jet plane.

The Brennan Center for Justice revealed earlier this month that legal loopholes and lax enforcement means that Trump has been using donations from his campaign supporters to pay "almost all of his legal bills."

"Trump has spent campaign money to cover legal costs in seemingly all of the some two dozen proceedings he’s faced since leaving office," the report explained. "Some of these matters directly relate to his campaigns and actions as president, including the lawsuits, investigations, and state and federal prosecutions focused on efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his retention of classified documents after leaving office."

The piece also said that there has been a lot of campaign cash spent on legal fees that have nothing to do with his candidacy, "such as the civil and criminal fraud probes into his business in New York."

Trump will likely appeal the guilty verdict, but it will mean more legal fees. So, he'll need further support from his loyalists to write the checks.