TRUMP PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO 34 FELONY CHARGES, RAILS AGAINST JUDGE AND PROSECUTOR

Unsealed indictment alleges pay-offs to three people with negative claims about Trump were fraudulently covered up in order to protect his presidential campaign

By Miriam Raftery

View District Attorney Alvin Braggs' press conference after arraignment

View Trump's speech at  Mar-a-Lago after arraignment

April 5, 2023 (New York) – Former President Donald Trump was arrested yesterday in Manhattan and pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records as part of a conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the 2016 election. 

If convicted, Trump could be sentenced to up to four years for each count, though the court could determine whether terms would be served concurrently or consecutively.  Trump’s lawyers have until August to file motions, with the next court hearing scheduled for December 4.  Barring further delays, a trial could be held early next year, just as the 2024 primaries get underway.

Trump, also a candidate running in the 2024 presidential race, was booked and fingerprinted, but not handcuffed nor was a mugshot taken. After the arraignment, he was released pending trial and returned to his home in Florida, where he gave a blistering speech railing against the prosecutor and judge despite a judicial warning to refrain from rhetoric that could incite violence.

The indictment, unsealed after the arraignment, reveals that the Trump organization covered up payments made to three people with negative information on Trump: porn star Stormy Daniels, who claimed she slept with Trump, Playboy model Karen McDougal, who said she had an affair with Trump, and a doorman who claimed Trump had an illegitimate child.

The prosecution alleges allege that records were falsified to coverup the payments and promote Trump’s presidential campaign.  In New York, fraudulent actions done to cover up another crime can be charged as felonies. 

Payments to Daniels were funneled through Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, and falsely listed as legitimate legal expenses; reimbursement to Cohen was described as income on an IRS filing.  Cohen went to prison in part for his role in the matter.

McDougal was paid off by Trump ally Michael Pecker, then publisher of American Media Inc., owner of the National Enquirer tabloid.  The prosecution described this as a “catch and kill” scheme to buy rights to her story, and then not publish it as it would be damaging to Trump’s campaign. This is ironic, given that it was the National Enquirer that broke a story about then-presidential candidate John Edwards fathering a child out of wedlock, a revelation that ended his campaign. AMI also paid off the doorman, but later concluded the doorman’s claim of an illegitimate child by Trump was untrue.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs, in a press conference after the arraignment, said the case isabout 34instances of documents containing false statements “to cover up crimes related to the 2016 presidential election.”  He stated, “We cannot and will not normalize serious criminal conducte.”  He added that to make the payments to keep damaging information secret, shell companies were set up, resulting in yet more false statements.

During the arraignment, prosecutors told Judge Juan Merchan that Trump’s social media posts and statements amounted to threats against the city, the justice system, the courts and the district attorney’s office, including a photo of Trump taking aim at the District Attorney with a baseball bat. Trump had also ominously warned of “death and destruction” if he were to be indicted.

Trump’s lawyers responded that Trump has First Amendment rights to voice his frustration with the system. The Judge acknowledged Trump has free speech rights, but also warned Trump to “tamp down the rhetoric” and specifically to avoid making any statements that could incite violence or threats against any public officials.

Despite that warning, in a fiery speech at his Mar-a-Lago home hours later, Trump called Braggs a “”failed district attorney” and attacking the Judge and his family, calling them “Trump hating” people.  Trump called the indictments “an insult to our country.” He has repeatedly claimed the charges against him politically motivated.

He also took aim at federal special prosecutor Jack Smith, who is investigating Trump over classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago and for Trump’s role in the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection, as well as law enforcement officials in Georgia, where a grand jury is weighing whether to indict Trump on alleged election tampering as he pressured Georgia officials to “find votes” after he lost the state.

Most Republican office holders continue to support Trump and denounce the charges, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who tweeted that Braggs “irreparably damaged our country in an attempt to interfere in our Presidential election.”

But one Republican presidential candidate, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, has said Trump should step down from the presidential nomination; Hutchinson voiced support for the legal process. 

An ABC News poll found a partisan divide among voters, with 88% of Democrats polled believing Trump should be charged, but only 16% of Republicans.  A CNN poll found that 60% of Americans – nearly two-thirds, approved of the indictment.