Donald Trump pled not guilty on Tuesday to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records relating to his alleged role in hush money payments near the end of his 2016 presidential campaign. This is the first time a former president has been required to plead not guilty to criminal charges.
In a sitting before Judge Juan Merchan in Manhattan’s criminal court, the indictment was unsealed. Trump was surrounded by his attorneys in the courtroom as prosecutors presented their case against him, alleging he made unlawful and clandestine payments to influence the 2016 presidential race. If convicted, he faces a maximum of four years in prison.
When asked his plea, Trump said, “Not guilty.”
Chris Conroy, the prosecutor, testified in court that Donald Trump engaged in a “illegal conspiracy” to benefit his campaign and “undermine the election.”
Trump “repeatedly and fraudulently manipulated New York company documents to conceal criminal behaviour that concealed damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election,” according to the statement of facts filed by prosecutors in conjunction with the indictment.
It described three recipients of hush money: adult film actress Stormy Daniels, Playboy model Karen McDougal, and a former Trump Tower doorman who claimed to have information about an illegitimate kid Trump fathered.
Trump enters a not guilty plea to 34 felony charges.
Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen paid Daniels $130,000, while McDougal and the doorman were paid $150,000 and $30,000 by AMI, the proprietors of the National Enquirer.
The Enquirer later determined that the doorman story was false and intended to release the doorman from the deal, but waited until after the election at Michael Cohen’s insistence, according to prosecutors. In the summer of 2017, Trump invited AMI CEO David Pecker to the White House for dinner, according to a court complaint.
According to the indictment, all of the fraudulent documents Trump approved in 2017 occurred while he was president. Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, told reporters that the fraudulent statements were “intended to conceal additional offences,” including violations of New York election law and federal campaign contribution limitations.
The legal issues, media spectacle, and porn-star-hush-money salaciousness at the centre of the case constitute a fresh chapter in the career of the New York tycoon-turned-TV-star-turned-politician, whose career has veered from controversy to success over the course of four decades. This time, unlike his bankrupt casinos or failed marriages, many of Trump’s supporters and detractors argue that the fate of American democracy hangs in the balance as the former president increasingly conflates any legal troubles with an attempt to illegitimately prevent him from returning to power.
Conroy also informed the judge that they were “extremely concerned” about Trump’s incendiary social media remarks about Bragg, other prosecutors, and the judge, stating that they could have an affect on jurors and witnesses.
Trump’s attorney, Todd White, told the judge that his client is “angry” and was only exercising his rights under the First Amendment. The judge cautioned both parties not to escalate their vitriol, but did not issue a gag order. Merchan urged, “Please refrain from making statements that will instigate violence or civil strife.”
“Repeatedly and dishonestly”
Trump arrived at the courthouse at 100 Centre St. in lower Manhattan in a presidential-style motorcade from Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan, where he had spent the previous night. Before his arraignment, he was informed he was under arrest, fingerprinted, and processed.
“Wow, I’m about to get ARRESTED! This seems so UNREAL. Can’t believe this is occurring in the United States “When he approached the courthouse, he made a statement on his social media network Truth Social.
With the disasters of the Jan. 6 incident at the U.S. Capitol still fresh in the minds of officials, security was tight in the courthouse and surrounding areas as the police department, court officers, and Secret Service prepared for demonstrations during the extraordinary arraignment of a former president.
Trump was led out of the courthouse and back to his car thereafter, amidst a media circus outside. Immediately following the hearing, he returned to his residence in Florida via private plane.
Tuesday evening, he was supposed to address the allegations from his Mar-a-Lago residence.
In a statement, Bragg said his office accuses Trump of illegal activity “During the 2016 presidential election, the defendant routinely and illegally manipulated New York company documents to hide offences that concealed detrimental information from the voting public.
He said “The trail of money and lies reveals a pattern that, according to the People, violates one of New York’s fundamental and basic business regulations. As this office has repeatedly done, we uphold our serious duty to guarantee that everyone is treated equally under the law.”
Blanche described the claims as “very disheartening.” “It’s sad, and we’ll fight it hard,” he added, adding that the former president is “upset, dissatisfied, unhappy, and angry that this occurred.”
“Accuse himself”
Trump called for “protests” in the case of his arrest one month ago, and he then escalated his language by threatening “possible murder and destruction” if he was charged. He continued to publish criticisms of the prosecutor overnight on Truth Social.
Trump said of Bragg, a Democrat whom he claimed of leaking details of the indictment to the media, “If he wants to really clean up his reputation, he will do the noble thing and INDICT HIMSELF.”
Trump, 76, has also used the indictment to collect funds for his 2024 campaign, which said on Monday evening that it has raised $7 million since a grand jury voted last Thursday to indict him.
Hundreds of pro- and anti-Trump demonstrators, including Reps. George Santos, R-N.Y., and Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., gathered in a small park across from the courthouse prior to his scheduled appearance, and some discussions between the opposing camps were heated.
The NYPD estimates that there were approximately 300 pro-Trump marchers and 150 anti-Trump demonstrators near the courtroom.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., a major Trump booster, had her scheduled presentation cut short as she was drowned out by whistles blown by another Trump supporter.
Monday at a news conference, Mayor Eric Adams informed reporters that the city was prepared for turmoil. “We are ready,” he declared.
Nonetheless, demonstrators were still outnumbered shortly before noon by the throng of international news media that had converged upon the area surrounding the courthouse, including journalists from Brazil, Germany, France, Finland, and Sweden.
The charges he faces do not qualify for bail under a 2019 New York state statute that Trump as president blasted as being too lenient on crime because they involve nonviolent felonies. According to legal experts, the judge might restrict Trump’s travel, but this is unlikely because he is a presidential candidate and is not considered a flight risk.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing, calling Bragg’s inquiry a “witch hunt” and accused the district attorney of being a “racist.”
Trump posted on Truth Social on Monday that he did not believe he could receive a fair trial in Manhattan, where he lived and established his name for decades before relocating to Florida during his presidency. The events at the heart of the investigations occurred in New York, where Trump’s campaign headquarters were also located at the time.
He wrote, “The Crooked DA has no case.” “He has a venue that makes it IMPOSSIBLE for me to receive a fair trial (it must be altered!)”
In addition, he demanded that a new judge preside over the case, claiming that Merchan is “Trump-hating.” “He must be altered!” Trump authored a webpage. He has also claimed that Bragg “hand-picked” Merchan, who presided over the criminal trial against the Trump Organization and its former chief financial officer that resulted in many convictions last year.
According to court officials, Merchan was randomly chosen to supervise the grand jury inquiry, and judges who supervise such investigations often hear all grand jury cases.
In 2015, while serving on a jury in Manhattan, Trump lauded the American legal system as a “great…system that works.”
Discreet cash payments
The focus of the district attorney’s inquiry was the hush money payments made prior to the 2016 presidential election to two women who claimed to have had affairs with Trump. He has denied his involvement in the affairs and any misconduct.
In the final days of the campaign, Cohen, then Trump’s attorney, paid Daniels $130,000. He has stated that he made the money at Trump’s direction, and the president has admitted repaying Cohen with payments classified as legal fees.
In addition, prosecutors questioned witnesses over allegations that former Playboy playmate McDougal was previously given $150,000 in hush money. In a federal court lawsuit involving Cohen, AMI admitted that it had paid McDougal for the rights to her narrative but had no intention of releasing it.
Cohen, who appeared before the grand jury, admitted his involvement in both payments in a 2018 guilty plea in federal court in Manhattan.
The arraignment is only the beginning of a protracted legal procedure that may take months or even years to conclude. The lawsuit is anticipated to go to trial in 2019.