Senior Republicans criticise guilty verdicts against Donald Trump

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks alongside former president Donald Trump (AP)

Senior figures in the Republican Party have reacted with fury after a New York jury convicted former US president Donald Trump on 34 counts of falsifying business records to influence the 2016 election.

House Speaker Mike Johnson described the verdicts as a “shameful day in American history” and said the charges were “purely political”, while Ohio Senator JD Vance said the verdict was a “disgrace to the judicial system”.