On Tuesday, March 4, former President Donald Trump turned himself in to authorities in Manhattan. This was after he had been formally charged. The leader of the Republicans pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts related to “hush money” bribes and changing business records before the 2016 presidential election. After the hearing, he yelled at the DA of New York, Alvin Bragg, about the indictment.
This isn't America: #TheGreatAmericaShow
— Lou Dobbs (@LouDobbs) April 5, 2023
Trump slams Bragg after pleading not guilty: 'I never thought anything like this could happen in America' https://t.co/EuygLfmCFc #FoxNews
Trump is accused of paying porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 and Playboy model Karen McDougal $150,000 to keep quiet about alleged sexual encounters he had with them before the 2016 election. Prosecutors say that the payments were made by the former president’s lawyer at the time, Michael Cohen. Then, the DA says that Trump changed his records so that the reimbursements looked like they were for legal costs. The prosecution says he did these things to hide information that could have turned voters against him. For example, news that he was an unfaithful husband could have hurt his reputation with conservative voters.
Cohen pleaded guilty to charges that were related to Trump in 2018, and this was part of his plea deal. He was given a three-year prison sentence for his part in the scheme and for using the former president’s company assets in fraudulent business practices. The Associated Press got a copy of the indictment against the former president. It had a lot of allegedly “false entries” in the business records of the Trump Organization and a list of checks that the DA says were Cohen’s reimbursements for his boss’ hush money payments.
Fox News says that after his arrest, Trump gave a speech in which he said he was innocent and was surprised and upset about it. He brought up failed investigations in the past, like the alleged Russian collusion scandal, to suggest that the current charges are just more of the same. He called Bragg a “Soros-based prosecutor,” implying that the DA’s pursuit of felony charges was driven by politics, and he demanded that the New York prosecutor step down because of his actions.
