POLITICS
What are the Trump criminal charges in the Stormy Daniels hush money case?
Donald Trump stands accused of illegally using campaign funds to make hush money payments. The trial begins on 15 April. What are the charges?
In April 2023, Donald Trump made history as the first former president to be charged with a crime. Since then, the president has been accused three more times with cases relating to different violations, including the mishandling of classified information and his role in the 6 January attack on the Capitol.
What has former US president Trump been charged with?
The case, brought by District Attorney Alvin Bragg, related to the misuse of campaign funds to make a hush money payment to adult film star Stephanie Clifford, known professionally as Stormy Daniels, was scheduled to start on Monday 25 March in New York. However, the proceedings were delayed for a few weeks, with Monday 15 April the new date.
The former president’s legal team moved to block Ms. Daniels and Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, from testifying in the case. Justice Merchan rejected this Motion, saying there was no “rationale that a prosecution witness should be kept off the witness stand because his credibility has been called into question.”
What charges were listed in the indictment?
The former president’s indictment listed thirty-four counts of “Falsifying business records in the first degree,” and Donald Trump pled not guilty in court. This charge is classified as a Class E Felony, which carries a maximum prison sentence of four years. Altogether, if convicted, Trump could face a maximum prison sentence of four years.
The counts in the indictment are all fairly similar. The first count, for instance, claims that Donald Trump “made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise” with the “intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime” or conceal another crime.
All counts relate to the falsification of business records and are linked to the dealings between Donald Trump and former adult film star Stormy Daniels. Specifically, they relate to a $130,000 hush money payment made to Daniels to avoid her speaking publicly about an alleged affair between her and the former president.