NEW YORK — In a hearing closed to television cameras, former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Tuesday to the 34 felony counts he faces following indictments by a Manhattan grand jury.
It had been known from the beginning that the grand jury was investigating the case of the secret payments that Trump allegedly authorized his now ex-lawyer and former ally, Michael Cohen, to give to the porn star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign to keep in silence an alleged extramarital affair.
But this Tuesday, after Trump’s court appearance, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg released the full charging document, as well as a statement of fact document that presents interesting revelations.
We reveal the keys to the documents. You can read them in full here.
- Trump was indicted on 34 counts of first-degree falsifying business records, all in an attempt to cover up other crimes, according to court documents.
- The indictment does not say exactly what offense prosecutor Bragg alleges as a concealed misdemeanor, which elevated business records offenses to felonies. Rather, statement of facts The accompanying indictment says the forgery was made “to conceal criminal conduct that concealed harmful information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election.”
- The indictment details two hush money payments made to women who alleged they were having affairs with Trump, citing long-known facts.
- He also cites a third payment to a doorman who allegedly claimed that Trump fathered a child with a housekeeper. The document alleges that the scheme to hide these payments was illegal, but it does not name the statutes that he violated. The indictment alleges a criminal scheme to withhold crucial information from voters but the only charges mention falsifying business records.
- In an alleged second instance, American Media, Inc (AMI) paid $150,000 to a woman who alleged she had a sexual relationship with the former president. When Trump allegedly explicitly ordered a lawyer then working for the Trump Organization as “Special Counsel” to reimburse AMI in cash, the counsel told Trump that the payment should be made through a shell company and not in cash. AMI ultimately refused to accept the refund after consulting his lawyer. AMI, which later admitted its conduct was illegal in a plea deal with federal prosecutors, made false entries in its business records about the true purpose of the $150,000 payment, according to court documents.
- According to court documents and statements made in the court docket, from August 2015 to December 2017, Trump allegedly orchestrated a scheme to “catch and kill” stories through a series of payments that he then concealed over months of false business entries. .
- When AMI later concluded that the allegation was untrue, its chief executive wanted to waive the deal but was instructed by Trump’s lawyer not to do so until after the presidential election, according to the documents.
- In a third case, 12 days before the presidential general election, the special legal counsel allegedly transferred $130,000 to the lawyer of a porn actress. The aide has since pleaded guilty and served in prison for making the illegal campaign contribution. Although Michael Cohen was not named by name, Cohen is a key witness in this case and pleaded guilty in federal court in 2018 to making an illegal payment to Daniels.
- After winning the election, Trump reportedly repaid special legal counsel through a series of monthly checks, first from the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, created in New York to hold the assets of the Trump Organization during the TRUMP presidency, and then from Trump’s bank account.
- In all, 11 checks were written for forged purposes, according to court documents from the Manhattan prosecutor. Nine of those checks were allegedly signed by Trump. Each check was processed by the Trump Organization as a payment for legal services rendered with a non-existent retainer agreement. In all, 34 “false reports” were made in New York business records to hide the hidden $130,000 down payment. In addition, the participants in the scheme took actions that mischaracterized, for tax reasons, the true nature of the refunds.
“The People of the State of New York allege that Donald J. Trump repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal crimes that concealed harmful information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election,” said prosecutor Bragg.
“Manhattan is home to the largest business market in the country. We cannot allow New York businesses to manipulate their records to cover up criminal conduct. As the Statement of Facts describes, the trail of money and lies exposes a pattern that the People allege violates one of New York’s basic and fundamental business laws. As this office has done time and time again, today we stand up for our solemn responsibility to ensure that everyone is equal before the law.”
