Putin says Trump conviction ‘burns’ idea of US as leading democracy

Russia expert warned Putin would see verdict as chance to undermine US's global influence and boost his own standing

Vladimir Putin has described the recent criminal conviction of Donald Trump as politically motivated and claimed that it had burned" the idea that the US was a leading democracy.

Trump last week became the first former US head of state ever convicted of a felony crime after a New York jury found him guilty of 34 charges over efforts to conceal a sexual liaison with an adult film actor, Stormy Daniels, in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election.