Donald Trump pleads not guilty to 34 felonies

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By Steve Schuster

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The wheels of justice moved forward Tuesday when former President Donald J. Trump was arrested and appeared in a Manhattan courtroom.

Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records, The Associated Press reported Tuesday.

He entered the plea during an arraignment in Manhattan where prosecutors unsealed a grand jury indictment.

At a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Trump made 34 false statements to cover up other crimes.

“We cannot and will not normalize serious criminal conduct,” Bragg said.

According to court documents and statements made on the record in court, from August 2015 to December 2017, Trump orchestrated his “catch and kill” scheme through a series of payments that he then concealed through months of false business entries, Bragg said.

American Media Inc. (“AMI”), paid $30,000 to a former Trump Tower doorman, who claimed to have a story about a child Trump had out of wedlock, Bragg said.

In a second instance, AMI paid $150,000 to a woman who alleged she had a sexual relationship with Trump. When Trump explicitly directed a lawyer who then worked for the Trump Organization as TRUMP’s Special Counsel (“Special Counsel”) to reimburse AMI in cash, the Special Counsel indicated to TRUMP that the payment should be made via a shell company and not by cash. AMI ultimately declined to accept reimbursement after consulting their counsel. AMI, which later admitted its conduct was unlawful in an agreement with federal prosecutors, made false entries in its business records concerning the true purpose of the $150,000 payment, Bragg said.

“In a third instance – 12 days before the presidential general election – the Special Counsel wired $130,000 to an attorney for an adult film actress. The Special Counsel, who has since pleaded guilty and served time in prison for making the illegal campaign contribution, made the payment through a shell corporation funded through a bank in Manhattan,” Bragg added.

Trump lied to protect his interests, said Bragg and closed by saying “Everyone stands equal before the law. No amount of money or power changes that enduring American principle.”

Accord to Bragg, after winning the election, Trump reimbursed the Special Counsel through a series of monthly checks, first from the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust – created in New York to hold the Trump Organization’s assets during Trump’s presidency – and later from Trump’s bank account. In total, 11 checks were issued for a phony purpose. Nine of those checks were signed by Trump. Each check was processed by the Trump Organization and illegally disguised as a payment for legal services rendered pursuant to a non-existent retainer agreement. In total, 34 false entries were made in New York business records to conceal the initial covert $130,000 payment. Further, participants in the scheme took steps that mischaracterized, for tax purposes, the true nature of the reimbursements.

As previously reported by the Wisconsin Law Journal, on Thursday, a Manhattan Grand Jury made the decision to indict Trump, according to a statement from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

“This evening we contacted Mr. Trump’s attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan D.A.’s Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal. Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected,” a Spokesperson for District Attorney Alvin Bragg wrote in a written statement.

The indictment stems from Trump’s alleged $130,000 hush money payment to Stormy Daniels, an adult film actress. The alleged payment occurred in the days ahead of the 2016 election to allegedly silence her about claims she’d had an affair with him.

As previously reported, a powdery substance was found last week with a threatening letter in a mailroom at the offices of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office.  New York City police and environmental protection officials isolated and removed the suspicious letter, and testing “determined there was no dangerous substance,” Bragg spokesperson Danielle Filson said. The substance was sent to a city lab for further examination, police said.

The letter said, “Alvin, I am going to kill you,” according to a person familiar with the matter. The person was not authorized to speak publicly about an ongoing investigation and did so on condition of anonymity, the Associated Press reported. 

Republican members of Congress sent Bragg a letter demanding that the District Attorney’s office provide them with communications, documents and testimony about his inquiry. In response, Bragg said, this was “an inappropriate attempt by Congress to impede a local prosecution.”

Questions remain how much of an impact the indictment will have the upcoming 2024 presidential election