Former President Trump Was Arraigned on 34 Criminal Counts: Here's What You Should Know
"Donald J. Trump at Marriot Marquis NYC September 7th 2016” by Michael Vadon is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Donald Trump, the former president and current frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, was charged by a Manhattan grand jury with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in a historic indictment unsealed on April 4.
Trump plead not guilty to the charges, which allege a scheme of concealing damaging stories in the run-up to the 2016 election through hush money payments to women who claimed they had extramarital affairs with Trump, including adult film star Stormy Daniels. He has denied the affairs.
The 16-page indictment says Trump “orchestrated a scheme with others to influence the 2016 presidential election by identifying and purchasing negative information about him to suppress its publication and benefit the Defendant's electoral prospects."
“The 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,” said Assistant District Attorney Christopher Conroy.
New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Trump “went to great lengths to hide this conduct, causing dozens of false entries in business records to conceal criminal activity, including attempts to violate state and federal election laws.” Michael Cohen, Trump's former attorney and fixer, made payments to Daniels just 12 days before the 2016 election in exchange for her silence. Prosecutors say Trump disguised his reimbursement to Cohen by reporting them as legal fees, and aimed "to conceal damaging information and unlawful activity from American voters before and after the 2016 election".
Bragg’s indictment may hinge on an untested legal theory. Falsifying business records is a misdemeanor under N.Y. law, but this can be charged as a felony if there was proof that the accused falsified records to cover up a crime. Bragg has proof Trump acted to cover up a federal crime, but it’s unclear whether he may point to federal crimes to charge Trump under state law, as reported by Vox.
Trump was silent as he entered and exited the Manhattan courtroom, where scores of reporters and onlookers lined the streets. He immediately flew back to his estate in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, where he delivered a speech assailing the case as politically-motivated and previewed how he may use the saga to fuel his 2024 run.
Already, it appears the indictment has galvanized Republicans, including most high-profile Congressional Republicans and likely 2024 challenger Ron DeSantis. As reported by The Washington Post, DeSantis accused the prosecutor of “pursuing a political agenda” and declared Florida would “not assist in an extradition request,” even as Trump’s team had already indicated that he would surrender.
House GOP leaders have fiercely condemned the indictment. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), have promised a congressional probe into the D.A.'s office and haven’t ruled out the possibility of subpoenaing Bragg.
Trump said the indictment is “Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history.” Notably, the campaign has raked in over $12 million since the indictment was unsealed, partly through photoshopped mugshot t-shirts.
The judge administering this case has told Trump’s lawyers a deadline of August 8th to file all of their motions, as well as giving the prosecutors until September 19th to make a response. The next court date is Dec. 4 — two months before the Republican presidential nomination process picks up in earnest — and Trump is expected to appear.
The case is certain to linger over Trump’s presidential candidacy. Bragg’s indictment is the first against the former president, but it may not be the last, with investigations ongoing into Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia.