On Tuesday, former President Donald Trump was charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records for allegedly paying two women to hush money before the 2016 U.S. election to keep their sexual encounters private.
Manhattan prosecutors accused Trump, the first sitting or former U.S. president to face criminal charges, of concealing an election law violation during his successful 2016 campaign.
Trump, 76, pleaded “not guilty” in court. Trump sat at the defense table with his attorneys, hands folded, in a dark blue suit and crimson tie.
Trump, the 2024 GOP frontrunner, answered “yes” when the judge asked if he understood a right. The judge put his palm to his ear to elicit a response.
“The defendant Donald J. Trump fabricated New York company documents to hide a criminal plot to undermine the integrity of the 2016 presidential election and other crimes of election statutes,” stated prosecutor Chris Conroy.
Falsifying company documents in New York is a misdemeanor punished by one year. Still, when done to promote or hide another offense, such as election law crimes, it becomes a felony punishable by four years.
Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal are the two women involved.
At the hearing, prosecutors said Trump made many social media posts, including one threatening “death and destruction” if indicted. The judge requested that parties “please abstain from making remarks that are likely to provoke violence or civil disorder.”
Trump fans and adversaries were divided by police barricades before the arraignment on a cold, bright spring day in New York.
Trump said nothing when he arrived or departed the courtroom an hour later.
On Tuesday night, he traveled home to Florida and addressed relatives, friends, and supporters at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, ranting about investigators, prosecutors, and opposition politicians.
He called New York prosecution election interference.
Trump stated, “I never imagined this could happen in America.” “My only crime was boldly defending our nation against those who would destroy it.”
A Georgia county prosecutor is investigating if Trump illegally sought to reverse his 2020 election loss. In addition, he faces two U.S. Justice Department investigations by a special counsel regarding his 2020 election overturns attempts and his handling of personal data after leaving office.
“They can’t beat us at the voting box so they attempt to beat us via the law,” Trump stated.
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