Trump Fights 34 Counts of Fraud in Court
Former US President and billionaire Donald Trump pled not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records on Apr. 4. The prosecutors stated that Trump had intentionally created business documents with inaccurate information, as a means of covering a story about his affair with pornographic actor Stormy Daniels during the 2016 US presidential election.
Trump surrendered to the Manhattan District Attorney's office on the afternoon of Apr. 4, after traveling from his residence in Florida to New York City. He was arraigned and then immediately returned to Florida. The next in-person hearing was set for Dec. 4, in New York City.
The case centers around a relationship that Daniels claims to have had with Donald Trump in 2006. In 2011, Daniels considered selling the story of the affair to the magazine Life & Style for $15,000 as Trump began exploring a potential presidential bid. His lawyer, Michael Cohen, threatened to sue the magazine, and the story was never seen to the public.
As Trump’s presidential campaign began in 2016, the National Enquirer bought the story. This was part of what is known as a “catch and kill” scheme, where the Enquirer would purchase, but not print, damaging stories related to Trump, according to USA Today.
The indictment is related to the late October 2016 $130,000 hush money payment Trump's lawyer at the time, Michael Cohen, made to Daniels.
In April 2018, aboard Air Force One, Trump told a reporter he did not know where Cohen got the money. Rudy Giuliani, an attorney for Trump, claimed in a Fox News interview that Trump was informed that the payments were made to fund his presidential campaign.
Each of the 34 counts of falsifying business records have been charged as felonies, each carrying a maximum sentence of four years. Normally, falsifying business records is carried out as a misdemeanor. But, when the falsification is part of an attempt to commit a different crime, it can be prosecuted as a felony, according to ABC News.
According to an IPSOS poll after Trump was indicted, 45 per cent of Americans believe Trump should be charged with the crimes, while 32 per cent disapprove, and the other 23 per cent are on the fence.