Two women in the case are adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal
\n NEW YORK
\nFormer President Donald Trump was charged on Tuesday with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in a historic case over allegations he orchestrated hush-money payments to two women before the 2016 U.S. election to suppress publication of their sexual encounters with him.
\nProsecutors in Manhattan accused Trump, the first sitting or former U.S. president to face criminal charges, of trying to conceal a violation of election laws during his successful 2016 campaign.
\n\u201cNot guilty,\u201d Trump, 76, said when asked by the judge in court how he pleaded. Wearing a dark blue suit and red tie, Trump sat, subdued, with his hands folded at the defense table flanked by his lawyers.
\nThe front-runner in the race for the Republican nomination in 2024, Trump responded with answers like \u201cyes\u201d when the judge asked him if he understood a right. At one point, the judge put his hand to his ear as if to prompt an answer.
\nProsecutor Chris Conroy said: \u201cThe defendant Donald J. Trump falsified New York business records in order to conceal an illegal conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the 2016 presidential election and other violations of election laws.\u201d
\nWhile falsifying business records in New York on its own is a misdemeanor punishable by no more than one year in prison, it is elevated to a felony punishable by up to four years when done to advance or conceal another crime, such as election law violations.
\nThe two women in the case are adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal.
\nSocial media posts
\nProsecutors during the arraignment said Trump made a series of social media posts, including one threatening \u201cdeath and destruction\u201d if he was charged. The judge asked the parties to \u201cplease refrain from making statements that are likely to incite violence or civil unrest.\u201d
\nOn a cool and sunny early spring day in New York, Trump supporters and detractors before the arraignment were separated by barricades set up by police to try to keep order, though there were some confrontations.
\nTrump said nothing as he entered the courtroom or when he left roughly an hour later.
\nHe flew home to Florida where he addressed family, friends and supporters at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach on Tuesday night, delivering a litany of grievances against investigators and prosecutors and rival politicians.
\nHe described the New York prosecution as election interference.
\n\u201cI never thought anything like this could happen in America,\u201d Trump said. \u201cThe only crime that I\u2019ve committed has been to fearlessly defend our nation against those who seek to destroy it.\u201d
\nTrump faces a separate criminal probe by a county prosecutor in Georgia into whether he unlawfully tried to overturn his 2020 election defeat in the state. He also faces two U.S. Justice Department investigations led by a special counsel into attempts to overturn the 2020 election results and his handling of classified documents after leaving office.
\n\u201cThey can\u2019t beat us at the ballot box so they try to beat us through the law,\u201d Trump said.
\nEarlier in the day, Trump posted on social media: \u201cHeading to Lower Manhattan, the Courthouse. Seems so SURREAL – WOW, they are going to ARREST ME. Can\u2019t believe this is happening in America.\u201d
\nManhattan District Attorney Bragg\u2019s team appears to have presented a solid case, said Adam Kaufmann, a defense lawyer who previously oversaw prosecutions in Manhattan.
\n\u201cWhat they\u2019ve done is taken a bare bones falsifying business records indictment, and through the statements of facts, presented it as part of conspiracy, which I think is very effective,\u201d Kaufmann said.
\nJeremy Saland, another former prosecutor, cautioned that prosecutors know they \u201chave a very long road ahead with these charges\u201d because they will have to prove to a jury that Trump intended to break election law even though he is not criminally charged with doing so.
\nJudge sets Dec. 4 hearing
\nJustice Juan Merchan set the next hearing for Dec. 4. Legal experts said a trial may not even get under way for a year, and indictment or even a conviction will not legally prevent Trump from running for president.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re going to fight it hard,\u201d Todd Blanche, a lawyer for Trump, told reporters after the arraignment. He said that while Trump was frustrated, upset and angry about the charges, \u201c… he\u2019s motivated. And it\u2019s not going to stop him. And it\u2019s not going to slow him down. And it\u2019s exactly what he expected.\u201d
\nBragg, a Democrat who pursued the case and has been accused by Trump and other Republicans of targeting him for political reasons, defended the charges.
\n\u201cWe today uphold our solemn responsibility to ensure that everyone stands equal before the law. No amount of money and no amount of power changes that enduring American principle,\u201d Bragg told a news conference.
\nThe grand jury convened by Bragg that indicted Trump heard evidence about a $130,000 payment made to Daniels in the waning days of the 2016 presidential campaign. Daniels has said she was paid to keep silent about a sexual encounter she had with Trump at a Lake Tahoe hotel in 2006.
\nThe former publisher of the National Enquirer, David Pecker, offered to look out for negative stories during Trump\u2019s campaign, prosecutors said. American Media Inc, its parent company, paid McDougal $150,000 to buy the rights to her story but then kept it secret. It also paid a former Trump Tower doorman $30,000 to buy the rights to an untrue story about a child Trump had allegedly fathered out of wedlock.
\nTrump\u2019s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen has said he coordinated with Trump on payments to Daniels and McDougal. Trump has denied having had sexual relationships with either woman but has acknowledged reimbursing Cohen for his payment to Daniels.
\nTrump\u2019s reimbursement checks to a lawyer for the suppression payments falsely stated that the money was for a \u201cretainer agreement,\u201d prosecutors said. The indictment accused Trump of falsifying his real estate company\u2019s books with intent to defraud.
\nThe false records included invoices from Cohen, entries in a ledger for Trump maintained by the Trump Organization, and check stubs, according to the indictment.
\nOne element of the charges is a method known as \u201ccatch and kill\u201d used by some media outlets to bury damaging information.<\/p>\n
Bragg\u2019s office did not charge Trump with violating election laws.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnder New York state law, it is a felony to falsify business records with intent to defraud and intent to conceal another crime. That is exactly what this case is about – 34 false statements made to cover up other crimes,\u201d Bragg said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Two women in the case are adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal NEW YORK Former President Donald Trump was charged on Tuesday with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in a historic case over allegations he orchestrated hush-money payments to two women before the 2016 U.S. election to suppress […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":324117,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-324095","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n