When Smollett first made his claim Mr Biden issued a tweet which said: “What happened today to Jussie Smollett must never be tolerated in this country.

“We must stand up and demand that we no longer give this hate safe harbour; that homophobia and racism have no place on our streets or in our hearts. We are with you, Jussie.”

Ms Harris went further, writing: “Jussie Smollett is one of the kindest, most gentle human beings I know. I’m praying for his quick recovery. This was an attempted modern day lynching.

“No one should have to fear for their life because of their sexuality or colour of their skin. We must confront this hate.”

In the wake of Smollett’s conviction Republicans said Mr Biden had been exposed for wading into legal cases for political gain.

Ronna McDaniel, chair of the Republican party, said: “Biden never misses an opportunity to play politics and prejudge cases before he has all the facts.”

Andrew Pollack, whose daughter Meadow died in the Parkland shooting in Florida in 2018, was among victims of crime who called on all politicians who backed Smollett to vocally denounce him now.

‘Those who defend a fraud are frauds themselves’

Mr Pollack said: “Joe Biden defended Jussie Smollett. Kamala Harris defended Jussie Smollett. Bernie Sanders defended Jussie Smollett. Elizabeth Warren defended Jussie Smollett.

“Those who defend a fraud are frauds themselves.”

And Robert George, a legal professor at Princeton, added: “The verdict is in. No serious person contests it. We’ve all seen the evidence. You made claims – passionately – that have turned out to be spectacularly false. Yet you say…nothing?”

Smollett’s tale of a horrific, racist, homophobic attack became part of a polarised political landscape in the United States.

But the jury found him guilty on five of six counts of disorderly conduct for lying to police.

Prosecutors said Smollett recruited two brothers – Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo – to fake an attack so it could be recorded by a surveillance camera and posted on social media for publicity.

The subsequent report made headlines around the world and prompted a massive manhunt.

The Osundairo brothers testified that Smollett paid them $3,500 for the hoax and gave them lines to yell, including about “MAGA country”, a reference to Mr Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.

Prosecutor Dan Webb said the verdict was “a resounding message by the jury that Mr Smollett did exactly what we said he did”.

Mr Webb said: “Not only did Mr Smollett lie to the police and wreak havoc here in the city for weeks on end for no reason whatsoever, but then he compounded the problem by lying under oath to a jury.”

Nenye Uche, Smollett’s lawyer, said he would appeal and was “100 per cent confident” of being cleared by a higher court.

He said: “Unfortunately we were facing an uphill battle where Jussie was already tried and convicted in the media.”

Smollett, 39, stood and faced the jury, showing no visible reaction as the verdict was read.

He and his family later left the courthouse without comment.

Judge James Linn said he would be sentenced at a later date.

Smollett has already lost his role on Empire, which was filmed in Chicago.

Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said: “I think there are lessons learned perhaps for everybody who commented at the time, including former President Trump.” 

She added: “I would say that we respect the jury’s decision. Lying to the police, particularly about something as heinous as a hate crime, is shameful.”