FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP PLEADS NOT GUILTY
On Tuesday, Donald Trump entered a plea of not guilty to 34 charges of purportedly falsifying business records at the Trump Organization. The accusations against him involve allegations that he concealed hush-money payments arranged by his former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, to silence two women before the 2016 election. The charges relate to payments made to Cohen under the guise of legal fees, as outlined in the indictment and a statement of facts issued by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
According to testimony from Cohen, he received 11 reimbursements – with Trump signing nine of the checks – for orchestrating hush-money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels ($130,000) and Playboy model Karen McDougal ($150,000) to keep them from publicly discussing their alleged sexual encounters with Trump.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office, led by Bragg, alleges that the Trump Organization made 34 fraudulent entries in their business records between February and December 2017 to conceal the $130,000 payment. The indictment details how Cohen submitted invoices for payments and created false entries with voucher numbers in the Trump Organization’s ledger, either through the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust or with Trump’s direct involvement.
In accordance with New York state law, falsifying business records can be classified as a misdemeanor offense. However, if the charges allege that the falsification was committed with the intention to defraud, such as by concealing another crime or committing a separate offense, they can be elevated to felony charges.
During his first 15 months in office, Bragg’s office has filed 117 felony charges against 29 individuals and companies under this statute. In comparison, Bragg’s predecessor filed 168 felony charges against 34 individuals and businesses from 2019 to 2021, according to the district attorney’s office.
“We cannot allow New York businesses to manipulate their records to cover up criminal conduct,” Bragg said in a statement.
Trump’s lawyers called the indictment “disappointing” for its lack of detail, particularly about what elevated the charges to felonies.
“It’s really disappointing. It’s sad,” lawyer Todd Blanche told reporters after the hearing. “We’re going to fight it and we’re going to fight it hard.”
A felony conviction for this offense carries a maximum prison sentence of four years, although first-time offenders typically receive shorter sentences or probation.
The indictment does not explicitly state the reason why the charges were elevated to felonies. However, Bragg’s statement of facts regarding the case indicates that the scheme involved mischaracterizing the payments for tax purposes. Nonetheless, one of Trump’s lawyers has denied this allegation.
The statement released by the district attorney’s office indicated that “participants in the scheme took steps that mischaracterized, for tax purposes, the true nature of the reimbursements.”
During a news conference following Trump’s arraignment, Bragg stated that he was not required by law to specify the grounds for elevating the charges. However, he did reveal that the allegations were based on violations of both state and federal election laws.
The statement released by the district attorney’s office indicated that “participants in the scheme took steps that mischaracterized, for tax purposes, the true nature of the reimbursements.”
During a news conference following Trump’s arraignment, Bragg stated that he was not required by law to specify the grounds for elevating the charges. However, he did reveal that the allegations were based on violations of both state and federal election laws.
According to Trump’s lawyer, Joe Tacopina, the payments were documented but not submitted to either the Internal Revenue Service or the Federal Election Commission. Tacopina made this statement during an interview with CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.
Tacopina emphasized that the payments were not filed anywhere. Although legal experts anticipated that Bragg would increase the charges based on alleged violations of campaign finance law, they considered this to be an unconventional approach.
Cyrus Vance Jr., the former district attorney, stated that his office has traditionally upgraded cases of fraudulent paperwork to felonies when they pertain to federal statutes. However, he noted that connecting the charges to a campaign finance violation would be unprecedented.
During an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Vance remarked, “To my knowledge, it has never been done before in relation to federal election law, which is a highly specialized field of law.”
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