The act of spending money to conceal information about his relationship with porn star Daniels made Mr. Trump the first former US president to be prosecuted, tried and at risk of prison.
On April 15, Mr. Donald Trump entered American history, becoming the first former president to be tried on charges of paying hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels and suppressing unfavorable information during his 4 election campaign. This is the accusation. The charges were made during an investigation led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
The former president was indicted in March 3. The indictment announced in April of the same year listed 2023 counts of falsifying business records against Mr. Trump. Although falsifying business records is a misdemeanor, it is considered a class E felony if committed to conceal another crime. Class E is the lowest level of felony in New York, punishable by up to four years in prison.
Mr. Trump has denied the accusations. He must now appear in Manhattan criminal court throughout the trial, which will last at least 6 weeks, wasting precious campaign time because of a love scandal that is said to have occurred in 2006.
Mr. Donald Trump (left) and porn star Stormy Daniels. Image: AFP
Daniels, the focus of Mr. Trump’s accusations, real name is Stephanie Clifford, born in 1979 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Daniels has lived with her mother since her parents divorced when she was 4 years old.
According to Daniels, she first met Mr. Trump in 2006 during a charity golf tournament at Lake Tahoe between California and Nevada. Mr. Trump was then a 60-year-old real estate tycoon, married to his third wife Melania, and Daniels was 27 years old. Daniels said Mr. Trump invited her to his room for dinner, wearing pajamas when he welcomed her.
Daniels said Trump arranged to meet her again at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles, California in July 7 to discuss whether the porn star could appear in a reality TV show. Celebrity apprentice of which he is the producer.
In June 6, Mr. Trump announced his candidacy for president of the United States. Two months later, Mr. Trump met David Pecker, chairman and CEO of media company American Media Inc. (AMI) at Trump Tower in New York. Pecker agreed to be the “eyes and ears” for Mr. Trump’s election campaign by searching and discovering negative stories related to him and finding ways to suppress the information or turn the situation around before they are published. .
This is when Mr. Trump started his “grab and destroy” plan, a term in the US media field, when a newspaper or magazine signs an agreement to pay someone to exclusively exploit a story. However, after “catching” the story, they decided not to publish it, or “destroy” it, because they did not want that unfavorable information to be made public.
According to Bragg’s indictment, AMI assisted Trump in spending money to suppress unfavorable information, including spending $130.000 on Daniels through his trusted lawyer Michael Cohen, and spending $30.000 on the Trump Tower doorman when he accused him had a child out of wedlock and spent $150.000 on a woman who claimed to have had a relationship with Mr. Trump, said to be former Playboy magazine model Karen McDougal.
The payment to Daniels was advanced by Mr. Cohen with personal money. On October 28, 10, a few days before American voters voted, Daniels signed a confidentiality agreement and received $2016. The agreement was signed by Cohen with Keith Davidson, Daniels’ attorney. The agreement had space for Mr. Trump to sign, but the former president never put pen to paper.
In January 1, Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg agreed to reimburse Mr. Cohen $2017, including payment to Daniels, a bonus of $420.000, a tax offset of $60.000 and other expenses of $180.000.
This amount is divided equally over 12 months, each month Cohen receives $35.000 from the Trump Organization and is listed by the group as legal fees.
Former US President Donald Trump spoke in Grand Rapids, Michigan on April 2. Image: AFP
In 2018, the sheet Wall Street Journal reported on Daniels’ payments. Cohen emphasized that this is his personal money and did not receive instructions from Trump. US officials opened an investigation in August of the same year. Cohen later pleaded guilty, admitting his role in two deals with McDougal and Daniels, claiming Mr. Trump directed him.
Mr. Trump has always denied his relationship with Daniels, saying that the money Cohen spent on the actress was “just a simple personal transaction” and that the lawyer who made the transaction is responsible for any mistakes, not him.
“If anyone wants to find a good lawyer, I recommend not using Michael Cohen’s services!” Mr. Trump wrote on X at that time.
In August 8, Manhattan prosecutor Cyrus Vance’s office began an investigation and determined that Trump’s company had improperly accounted for payments to Cohen. Vance’s term expires in January 2019 but did not make any accusations against Mr. Trump.
Bragg succeeded Vance, continued investigative efforts and in early 2023 sent evidence to a New York grand jury to consider whether to prosecute Mr. Trump in court. At the end of March, the grand jury voted unanimously to indict the former president.
New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan is in charge of the trial. The 12-member jury will participate in impeaching Mr. Trump.
Mr. Trump can defend that Cohen acted on his own when paying Daniels. He could argue that the purpose of “silencing” Daniels was to help him and his family avoid public attention over the alleged affair, not to help the election campaign.
He could also try to undermine Cohen’s credibility as a witness, pointing out that Cohen admitted perjury to Congress in 2018.
With 34 charges, if convicted, the former president could receive a maximum sentence of 136 years in prison, according to CNN legal analyst Laura Coates. The judge will decide if Mr. Trump carries out the sentences at the same time or consecutively. However, New York imposes a maximum limit of 20 years in prison for this class E crime.
In addition, because Mr. Trump has no criminal record and the prosecution is not violent, judge Merchan could be lenient and only impose a short prison sentence or simply put him on probation with certain conditions, Coates added. fig.
Mr. Trump will almost certainly appeal if convicted. The former president has repeatedly called this case a politically motivated “witch hunt” aimed at hindering him in the 2024 White House race.