Prosecutors have charged Donald Trump with 34 felony counts for falsifying business records related to a “catch-and-kill” scheme to suppress negative news stories about him ahead of the 2016 US Presidential election.
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New Delhi: Former President Donald Trump was on Tuesday charged 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 US Presidential election to suppress publication of their sexual encounters with him. The 76-year-old is now the first sitting or former US president to face criminal charges. The two women in the case are adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal.
What is Donald Trump accused of doing?
Prosecutors led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, an elected Democrat, charged Donald Trump with 34 felony counts for falsifying business records related to a “catch-and-kill” scheme to suppress negative news stories about him ahead of the 2016 US Presidential election.
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During the campaign, his former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid porn star Stormy Daniels $1,30,000 for her silence on an affair she says she had with Trump.
While Cohen testified in 2018 that the ex-US President directed him to pay Daniels, Trump has repeatedly called him a ‘liar’.
Trump has also denied the allegations and the affairs but has admitted to reimbursing Cohen for his payment to Daniels.
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He has called Bragg’s probe a politically motivated “witch hunt” and has pleaded not guilty during his first court appearance on Tuesday.
It is against New York state law to make a false entry in a company’s records. While falsification of business records on its own is a misdemeanor, meaning it is punishable by a sentence of less than one year, it is considered a felony punishable by up to four years in prison if it is done to conceal or further other crimes.
In Trump’s case, Manhattan District Attorney Bragg said those other crimes include alleged election law violations.
The US Attorney’s office in Manhattan has not charged Trump, who it referred to in its charging document against his ex-lawyer Cohen as “Individual-1,” with any crime.
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What can be Donald Trump’s argument?
Donald Trump may argue that his former lawyer acted on his own when paying Stormy Daniels.
He may also argue that the purpose of silencing Daniels and Karen McDougal was to spare him and his family the embarrassment of public attention to alleged extramarital affairs, not to help his campaign.
Taken together, the charges carry a maximum of 136 years in prison under New York law, but any prison sentence following a guilty verdict would almost certainly be far less than that.
Trump would almost certainly appeal any conviction.
What’s next for Trump after being charged with hush-money scheme?
Donald Trump has accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of targeting him for political gain and could try to seek dismissal of the charges on those grounds. He has complained that Juan Merchan, the judge, treated his company unfairly when he oversaw a criminal tax-fraud trial last year.
Trump has also said that the case should be moved from heavily Democratic Manhattan to Staten Island, a more conservative part of New York City.
His lawyers would now have to file a motion showing why Merchan is unqualified to handle the case. That would likely be denied as there is no basis for recusal, news agency Reuters reported citing a former Manhattan assistant district attorney.
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Likewise, any request to change the venue would likely be denied this far in advance of a trial.
Trump will likely pursue other avenues as well, some of which could present thorny legal issues that take time to resolve.
Trump could also challenge whether the statute of limitations — five years in this instance — should have run out. That deadline has been extended due to the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Under New York law, the statute of limitations can also be extended if the defendant has been out of state, but Trump may argue that serving as US president should not apply.
After Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony charges, Judge Merchan set the next court hearing for December 4.
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Prosecutors said they plan to request a trial date of January 2024, while Trump’s legal team suggested a spring 2024 trial.
That now raises the possibility that Trump could face a jury in a Manhattan courtroom as he seeks a return to the White House – or even after the November 2024 US Presidential elections.
Trump’s case is far from typical, and his lawyers say they intend to fight it aggressively with a blizzard of paperwork. That could conceivably push any trial past the timetable floated by the two sides and closer to the upcoming US presidential election.
If elected after defeating the Democratic nominee (likely incumbent President Joe Biden), Trump would not hold the power to pardon himself of state charges. But putting a president-elect or president on trial for state charges would enter uncharted legal waters.
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It is noteworthy that aside from the hush-money case, Trump faces federal criminal investigations over allegations he tried to overturn his 2020 election defeat and mishandling of classified documents.
He also faces an investigation into his attempts to fight his 2020 defeat in Georgia.
