A New York court has indicted Donald Trump for making secret payments to hide accounts of his alleged extramarital affairs. Here’s a look at the charges he faces and his possible defenses
The Manhattan district attorney’s office on April 4 unsealed allegations against Donald Trump of secret cash payments to cover bills for his alleged extramarital affairs, becoming the first former US president to face criminal charges.
Below is an explanation of the charges he faces and his possible defenses:
What is Trump accused of?
Prosecutors, led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, charged Trump with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with a catch-and-kill scheme to suppress negative news stories about him before the 2016 election.
During the campaign, Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, paid porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about an affair she alleged she had with Trump.
Trump denies the allegations and the affairs, but has acknowledged reimbursing Cohen for his payment to Daniels. He called Bragg’s investigation a politically motivated “witch hunt” and pleaded not guilty during his first court appearance on Tuesday.
Combined, the charges carry a maximum of 136 years in prison under New York law, but any sentence upon conviction would almost certainly be much less than that. Trump will almost certainly appeal any sentence.
What laws does this violate?
It is against New York State law to make a false entry in the records of a company. While falsifying business records is a misdemeanor in itself, meaning it is punishable by a sentence of less than one year, it is considered a felony punishable by up to four years in prison if it is committed with the intent to conceal or aid of other crimes.
In that case, Bragg said those other crimes included alleged election law violations.
In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to federal charges of causing illegal campaign contributions and excessive campaign contributions related to the scheme. The U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan has not charged Trump, whom it named in its indictment against Cohen as “Individual 1,” with any crime.
What could Trump’s defense be?
Trump may argue that Cohen acted alone when he paid Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford. He may also argue that the purpose of silencing Daniels and McDougall was to spare him and his family the embarrassment of public attention to the alleged extramarital affairs, not to help his campaign.
While Cohen testified in 2018 that Trump ordered him to pay Daniels, Trump has repeatedly called Cohen a “liar” and may seek to undermine Cohen’s credibility by pointing out that he has admitted to perjury before Congress .
In an interview with Reuters in December 2018, Trump said the payment to Daniels was “not a campaign contribution” and “there was no violation based on what we did.”
Joseph Tacopina, Trump’s lawyer, claimed in television interviews that Trump was the victim of blackmail by Daniels. Trump also said in a post on his Truth Social platform that the statute of limitations — usually five years in New York — had run out.
How could Bragg overcome these arguments?
While Cohen’s history of lying could provide fertile ground for Trump’s lawyers on cross-examination if he testifies at a potential trial, Cohen has already been convicted and served time.
That could blunt any attempt by Trump to argue that Cohen is falsely implicating him to try to win a lenient sentence, a common argument criminal defendants make against cooperating witnesses.
Trump’s claim that Daniels blackmailed him may not be relevant to the case because the indictment focuses on his company’s false reporting of the payments as legal expenses.
The statute of limitations is unlikely to be an issue because it does not count the time the defendant spent living outside of New York State. Trump lived in Washington while he was president and has lived in Florida since leaving office in 2021.