Felony

2023 - 4 - 5

Post cover — Image courtesy of "Politico"

Trump surrenders for alleged role in porn star hush money payment (Politico)

It is the first time a current or former president has been arrested on criminal charges.

It started with an effort by Trump to suppress the National Enquirer’s publication of a former Trump Tower doorman’s claim about a child Trump purportedly had out of wedlock. He has argued that the hush money case was kept alive only by a Covid-extended statute of limitations even though prosecutors — and even Bragg himself — long seemed wary of bringing an indictment. That investigation yielded a 2021 conviction of the Trump Organization and a guilty plea from its longtime chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, who is currently serving a five-month prison sentence. Across the street from the courthouse, competing factions of anti- and pro-Trump protesters, featuring appearances by Reps. Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison on those charges, as well as tax and fraud offenses. Trump has railed against the hush money case and has called Bragg politically motivated. The charging documents suggest that prosecutors are relying on witness testimony, business records and a recorded conversation in September 2016 between Trump and his then-attorney Michael Cohen. His attorneys echoed his allegations about the charges after the arraignment. All 34 counts he faces are for “falsifying business records,” a crime that carries a sentence of up to four years in prison when charged as a felony. He sat at a table in the courtroom alongside attorneys Todd Blanche, Susan Necheles, Joe Tacopina and Boris Epshteyn. Trump entered the not guilty plea himself and remained solemn, looking straight ahead throughout the proceedings. Trump, the first former president ever indicted, delivered his plea in a Manhattan courtroom a few hours after turning himself in to authorities.

Analysis: What the 34 felony charges against Donald Trump reveal (BBC News)

Now the indictment against the former US president has been unsealed, here is what you need to know.

As a reward, the indictment notes, Mr Pecker received an invitation to Mr Trump's inauguration. These payments, he says, support the prosecution case that Mr Trump knew his payments to Cohen were part of an illegal attempt to influence the 2016 presidential election. "The defendant orchestrated a scheme with others to influence the 2016 presidential election by identifying and purchasing negative information about him to suppress its publication and benefit the defendant's electoral prospects," the indictment's Statement of Facts asserts. In 2017, after becoming president, Mr Trump met with Cohen in the White House. TRUMP repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal criminal conduct that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election. Mr Trump - who pleaded not guilty to all the charges - insisted after leaving the courthouse that there was no case to answer.

5 things to know about Donald Trump's felony charges (NPR)

Former President Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover damaging information.

Revisit [how the news unfolded.](https://www.npr.org/live-updates/trump-indictment-arraignment-arrest-new-york) That's right in the heart of primary season, which could complicate the former president's reelection bid. The prosecution is pushing for opening arguments to begin sometime in January 2024, but Trump's defense asked for a few more months, maybe sometime in spring 2024. (On the advice of AMI's general counsel, that reimbursement never took place.) The first is New York state election law, "which makes it a crime to conspire to promote a candidacy by unlawful means," Bragg said. The court ruled that Special Counsel Jack Smith can question top Trump aides on his actions in Jan. "I never thought anything like this would happen in America," Trump said to kick off his speech. "In truth, there was no retainer agreement," reads a statement of fact that accompanied the charges. That's a Class E felony — the lowest level of felony in the state of New York. Trump, Cohen and AMI's CEO David Pecker "had a series of discussions about who should pay off [MacDougal] to secure her silence," prosecutors say. All three took place after Trump announced his candidacy for president in June of 2015. Former President Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts.

Trump Pleads Not Guilty After Being Indicted on 34 Felony Counts (The New York Times)

The former president, who appeared in a Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday, is accused of covering up a potential sex scandal during the 2016 election.

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Trump pleads not guilty to 34 felony counts in Manhattan court - Roll ... (Roll Call)

Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Tuesday to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment to a porn star.

“Heading to Lower Manhattan, the Courthouse. “DA Alvin Bragg’s political witch hunt is a blatant assault on our democracy,” she tweeted. He pointed out that federal prosecutors examined the case and did not charge Trump. That violated New York and federal election law, which led to the charges, he said. Seems so SURREAL — WOW, they are going to ARREST ME. It's as simple as that that," Tacopina told reporters. [Ronny Jackson](https://www.rollcall.com/members/104198?utm_source=memberLinks&utm_medium=memberlinks&personid=104198) issued a statement that hurled insults at Bragg, calling him a “spineless weasel” who was “making up the law as he goes.” Trump posted multiple times on Truth Social ahead of the hearing in all caps, including a post that called the judge and his family “HIGHLY PARTISAN” and well-known “TRUMP HATERS.” Trump said “not guilty” in a firm voice while facing a judge who warned him to refrain from rhetoric that could inflame or cause civil unrest, according to an Associated Press account of the hearing. Bragg said that his office, at the financial center of the world, pays careful attention to the falsification of business records, and “everyone stands equal before the law, no amount of money and no matter power, changes that enduring American principle.” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said at a press conference after the court hearing that the charges stem from a “catch and kill” scheme to stymie negative stories about Trump. Bragg defended his office’s investigation in response to questions from reporters, and he said the state business record falsification law does not require that a defendant be charged with the underlying crime they were trying to cover up, in this case the election law violations.

Probe Ongoing After Local Doctor Charged With Felony (Jamestown Post Journal)

A local doctor who practices family medicine is accused of having sexual intercourse with a patient while acting as that person's health care provider. Olu.

He was taken into custody “as a result of the investigation,” the department said in a news release. The complaint, portions of which are redacted to shield the victim’s name and gender, states that the alleged crime occurred at about 11:30 a.m. Adegoke, 36, was taken into custody Friday on a charge of third-degree rape, a class E felony in New York.

Legal experts say Trump felony charges will be difficult to prove (CBS News)

Manhattan prosecutors accused Trump of taking part in a years-long "catch and kill scheme" to propel his rise to the White House.

Trump's attorneys, Coffee said, could argue that the case should be dismissed because prosecutors have not sufficiently demonstrated that the former president falsified records to conceal another crime. I was trying to keep this out of the press," Zelin said. "And I think it hinges on other people in the Trump Organization who actually helped him make these payments." Cohen, who said he made a $130,000 hush money payment to Daniels in 2016 on behalf of the former president, served time in federal prison after pleading guilty to tax evasion and campaign finance violations. "I think it will be difficult to prevail on the felonies," Zelin told CBS News. But it can be upgraded to a low-level felony if the prosecution can show the defendant committed the offense with the intention to commit or conceal another crime.