Manhattan District Attorney Donald Trump’s just-released 34-count indictment could see the former president serve decades in state prison if convicted.
“Defendant Donald J. Trump repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal criminal conduct during the 2016 presidential election that concealed damaging information from the voting public,” according to a factual document (read it here), which was released today with prosecutor Alvin Bragg. Impeach Trump. Read the full indictment here.
“During and in furtherance of his presidential bid, the accused and others agreed to identify and suppress negative narratives about him,” the indictment states. “Two parties to this Agreement have admitted unlawful conduct in connection with the Agreement.”
Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges of falsifying business records before immediately leaving court to return to his Florida residence. The next hearing in the case is set for December 4 – clearly putting it in the heart of the 2024 election cycle.
The forgeries in the Trump case are considered felonies, an increase on the standard felonies for such crimes. However, the charges are all Class E felonies — the lowest category of felonies under New York law, which carry a maximum prison sentence of four years per charge.
All of which means Trump could face 136 years behind bars if convicted on all counts of criminal concealment. More realistically, if convicted, the 76-year-old ex-POTUS will receive a much shorter sentence after all appeals have been exhausted.
The indictment itself is a fairly detailed document and a revival of checks made out to Stormy Daniels, former Playmate model Karen McDougal and former Trump Tower bouncer Dino Sajudin in alleged “catch and kill” payoffs involving stories of affairs and illegitimate children. While the charges appear to be based on the $130,000 that then-Trump fixer Michael Cohen paid porn star Daniels in exchange for her silence just before the 2016 election, the indictments generally list every business transaction and campaign donation violation up to 34 counts.
While the indictment itself is fairly dry, the statement of fact plants the seeds of Trump himself spearheading the cover-up and payoffs, to the point where he appears to have weighed electoral odds and potential consequences.
“The defendant instructed Attorney A to delay payments to wife #2 as long as possible,” according to factual testimony from Cohen, who handed money to Daniels, who says she had a brief fling with Trump in 2006 . “He instructed lawyer A that if they could delay payment until after the election, they wouldn’t have to pay at all because at that point it doesn’t matter if the story is published. According to emails and text messages between Attorney A, Attorney B, and the editor-in-chief of AMI, Attorney A attempted to delay payment as long as possible.
The payout to Daniels became public in 2018. Trump has always denied any relationship with Daniels, although he admits to meeting her – as evidenced by photographs.
All this means that DA Bragg has uncovered a case with information that is several years old and well researched – a fact on which the court’s defense and public opinion will build. Still, confirmation is always key, and Cohen and former National Survey Publisher David Pecker both testified before the grand jury in the case.
While the statute of limitations for crimes in the Empire State is typically five years, there was a break because Trump was in the White House in Washington, DC during his tenure and then officially became a resident of the Sunshine State. During the height of the Covid pandemic, then-Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, pressed the statute’s stop button.
After an uproar in the travel report — the last 24 hours of Trump’s trip from Florida to NYC and in custody — the actual hearing began around 11:30 am. PT on the 15th floor of the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse, a few minutes later than expected. The much longer-than-expected hearing for New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan was not counted as a bailable offense and continued until 12:25 p.m. PT lasted.
Along with the defense’s motions, Trump’s lawyers also announced that they will file a motion for his release fairly soon. Judging by the nearly three dozen counts in the indictment, the filing could be as early as tomorrow, but it will most likely take at least a few days.
Source: Deadline
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
