Becomes First POTUS Ever Charged with a Crime During or After Presidency
New York, NY – The nation is reeling after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg achieved what so many prosecutors dreamed of – an indictment of the 45th President of the United States.
On March 31 just before 6 p.m. local time, news broke that a Grand Jury had indicted Donald J. Trump, the previous POTUS. The case dates back to 2016 during Trump’s first run at the White House. Hush money was allegedly paid to an adult film performer who went under the name “Stormy Daniels.” There is also an issue of hush money allegedly paid to Playboy model Karen McDougal which is dangling.
While such a payout is not necessarily illegal in and of itself, the way that it was done is the issue at hand. According to former Trump fixer Michael Cohen, the payment was made via campaign funds, which is illegal per NY law.
Regular improper reporting of monies is considered a misdemeanor, and the statute of limitations is two years. However, what DA Bragg is betting on is testimony during the Grand Jury review in which Cohen said that it was done via campaign funds, which would bump up the misdemeanor charges to felony charges. Trump’s team is saying that Cohen is an unreliable source, as he is a former disgruntled employee convicted of crimes who is looking for payback, but Cohen suggests that if he was convicted of the things that Trump is accused of, then how come he served time, but Trump is out and running for President again?
On April 4, Trump showed up to Lower Manhattan to be arraigned on the charges, which were sealed until he heard them for the first time. Because of Trump’s status as a former U.S. President, he was spared a “perp walk” in handcuffs and a mugshot. However, he did have to submit fingerprints for processing. During the whole process, he was considered, “Under Arrest.”
At the arraignment, Trump pleaded “not guilty” to 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. The 34 counts stem from 34 checks issued in 2017 that make up a payment to Cohen for services. However, DA Bragg said in a press conference that the payments were fictitious, and to cover up illegal payments to promote a campaign by unlawful means per NY law. The key to the case is this: Did Trump explicitly instruct Cohen to make the payments, or did Cohen do the fixing on his own to make it look legit?
When Trump returned home to Mar-a-Lago that night, he held a mini-rally of sorts and derided the charges against him, mentioning that Bragg said how he would go after Trump in his campaign for DA. Trump also ranted against the other legal cases he is facing.
The next hearing is tentatively scheduled for Dec. 4, 2023. The prosecution would like a trial to being in January 2024, when Trump would be deep in his campaign to be reelected to the White House.
If Trump were to be convicted on all 34 Class E felony counts, he would face up to 136 years in prison.
