The Trump Indictment, Annotated: Analyzing the 34 Charges
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office unsealed an indictment Tuesday charging former President Donald J. Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, a low-level New York state felony. The charges relate to reimbursements to Mr. Trump’s former regulator, Michael D. Cohen, for a hush-hush payment to Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign. Mr. Trump pleaded not guilty in court on Tuesday.
Along with the indictment, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg also released a “statement of facts” document outlining a larger scheme he said Mr. Trump and others had orchestrated to avoid negative press. during the 2016 campaign. That scheme also included cash payments to a second woman who said she had an affair with Mr. Trump and a former Trump bouncer who made an unproven claim that Mr. Trump had a child out of wedlock, Mr. Bragg said. Tuesday.
34 Allegations against Donald J. Trump
Mr. Trump is accused of disguising reimbursements to Michael Cohen as legal fees to hide a hush money payment to Stormy Daniels.
11 charges
Regarding the invoices from Cohen
Prosecutors say Mr. Cohen submitted false invoices for legal fees.
11 charges
About checks
The checks were written by Mr Trump or using his own funds to reimburse Mr Cohen.
12 charges
Regarding book entries
The accounting entries made for the refunds on Mr. Trump’s books.
Read the indictment of Donald Trump ›
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New York Times analysis
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1 Here, the Manhattan district attorney’s office explains the method of criminal charges against former President Donald J. Trump. They were voted on by a grand jury of regular New Yorkers who heard from witnesses over the course of months.
New York Times analysis
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2 This is the crime for which Mr. Trump is accused 34 times in this indictment. Each charge is identical and is an E felony, the lowest class of felony in New York State law.
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3 One type of record that Mr. Trump is accused of falsifying relates to invoices for legal services that his fixer, Michael Cohen, sent to Mr. Trump’s company. But prosecutors say that no legal services were provided. They say the receipts actually represented Mr. Cohen’s reimbursement from Mr. Trump for hush money Mr. Cohen paid Stormy Daniels to prevent her from telling her story of a sexual affair with Mr. Trump.
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4 This language is crucial because to charge falsified business records as a felony in New York State, the district attorney must show that the records were falsified to conceal another crime. Although the indictment does not specify the second crime, in his public comments and a related “statement of facts,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg said Mr. Trump had orchestrated a scheme to violate election laws.
