There was anticipation, there was exasperation at the wait, and then there it was: a guilty verdict against Donald Trump, delivered by a jury of 12 New Yorkers after two days of deliberation. In fact 34 guilty verdicts, all for falsifying business records. Never before has a former American president been convicted of a crime. Nor has a major-party candidate sought the presidency with a felony record. The overriding question now is whether it will upset Mr Trump’s chances in this year’s race: if the election were held today, polls suggest, he would beat Joe Biden.

The case concerned Mr Trump’s campaign in 2016, back when his presidential bid seemed to many like a chaotic lark. Before the election his then lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid a porn star to keep her story of sex with the candidate out of the press. Mr Trump approved the hush-money deal and mislabelled his reimbursement to Mr Cohen as legal fees in his company’s books. Since Mr Cohen was repaid in monthly instalments, Alvin Bragg, Manhattan’s district attorney, brought 34 counts stemming from those falsely marked payments. Some related to ledger entries, some to cheques and others to invoices. Without a doubt Mr Trump will appeal against the conviction. “Mother Teresa could not beat these charges,” he groused before it came.