In order to hide negative information and illegal activities from voters before and after the 2016 presidential election, prosecutors accuse the former US president of fabricating company records. There was nothing done unlawfully, according to Trump.
As he appeared in court in New York, Donald Trump personally entered a not guilty plea to 34 felony counts, making him the first former US president to be charged with a crime.
Prosecutors allege that he allegedly fabricated business records before and after the 2016 election to hide negative information and illegal activities from American voters.
The 76-year-old Republican is charged with utilizing a “catch and kill” tactic to track for, acquire, and bury damaging material about him in order to improve his chances of winning the election.
President Donald Trump pleads Not Guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records pic.twitter.com/p649xKWlIy
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) April 4, 2023
Trump is charged with orchestrating three separate instances of hush money payments to conceal alleged affairs in the released grand jury indictment.
The alleged payments, according to the prosecution, were a part of a plot to taint the 2016 election.
Twelve days before the 2016 presidential election, which he won, Trump is accused of organizing a payment of $130,000 (£104,000) to porn actress Stormy Daniels.
According to reports, it was created to stop Ms. Daniels, real name Stephanie Clifford, from talking about a sexual encounter she claimed to have had with Trump in 2006 at a hotel in Lake Tahoe.
He is also charged with orchestrating a $150,000 (£120,000) payment to former Playboy model Karen McDougal to prevent her from disclosing a claim that she had sex with him.
Both the sexual interactions he had with the two ladies and any criminality surrounding the payments were denied by him.
Prosecutors believe that a third allegation centers on an alleged $30,000 (£24,000) payment to a former doorman for Trump Tower who claimed to have information regarding a kid Trump had outside of marriage.
Nine of the 11 checks, according to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, were signed by Trump and were provided for a “phony purpose.”
Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal attorney, claimed that the former president gave him instructions to set up the $130,000 payment to Ms. Daniels.
Additionally, Trump has admitted to paying him back, and the Trump Organization has recorded the payment as a legal expense.
A offense that carries a sentence of a year or more in prison is typically considered a felony.
