''The People of the State of New York v. Donald J. Trump'' is a pending criminal case against
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
, the 45th
president of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
. On March 30, 2023, Trump was
indicted
An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of an ...
by a
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
grand jury
A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...
for his alleged role in
a scandal relating to
hush money
Hush money is a term for an arrangement in which one person or party offers another an attractive sum of money or other enticement, in exchange for remaining silent about some illegal, stigmatized, or shameful behavior, action, or other fact abo ...
payments made to the
pornographic film actress
A pornographic film actor or actress, pornographic performer, adult entertainer, or porn star is a person who performs sex acts in video that is usually characterized as a pornographic movie. Such videos tend to be made in a number of dis ...
Stormy Daniels
Stephanie Gregory Clifford (born March 17, 1979), known professionally as Stormy Daniels, is an American pornographic film actress and director, and former stripper. She has won numerous industry awards, and is a member of the NightMoves, AVN ...
before the
2016 U.S. presidential election,
making him the first U.S. president to be indicted.
Trump faces 34
felony
A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...
charges of
falsifying business records Falsifying business records is a crime in the laws of several U.S. states.
New York law Elements and punishment
Under New York law, falsifying business records in the second degree is a class A misdemeanor, while falsifying business records in the ...
in the first degree, carrying a maximum sentence of 136 years if Trump is convicted on all counts.
[ ]
Trump traveled from his residence in
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
on April 3 where he surrendered to the
Manhattan District Attorney
The New York County District Attorney, also known as the Manhattan District Attorney, is the elected district attorney for New York County (Manhattan), New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws ...
's office on the afternoon of April 4.
After his
arraignment
Arraignment is a formal reading of a criminal charging document in the presence of the defendant, to inform them of the charges against them. In response to arraignment, the accused is expected to enter a plea. Acceptable pleas vary among jurisd ...
, he immediately returned to Florida. The next in-person hearing is set for December 4 in New York.
Trial was set for March 25, 2024.
Throughout
the investigation
''The Investigation'' (original title ''Śledztwo'') is a science fiction/ detective/ thriller novel by the Polish writer Stanisław Lem. The novel incorporates a philosophical discourse on explanation of unknown phenomena. It was first publis ...
that led to the indictment, Trump accused district attorney
Alvin Bragg
Alvin Leonard Bragg Jr. (born October 21, 1973) is an American politician and lawyer from the state of New York who is serving as the New York County District Attorney. In 2021, he became the first African-American and first person of color elect ...
—the case's prosecutor—of having political motivations. Months before he was indicted, Trump
declared that he would run in the
2024 presidential election.
Neither the indictment nor any resulting conviction would disqualify his candidacy.
Background
Stormy Daniels–Donald Trump scandal
![Stormy Daniels 2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Stormy_Daniels_2010.jpg)
In July 2006,
Stormy Daniels
Stephanie Gregory Clifford (born March 17, 1979), known professionally as Stormy Daniels, is an American pornographic film actress and director, and former stripper. She has won numerous industry awards, and is a member of the NightMoves, AVN ...
, an American pornographic film actress, met Trump at a celebrity golf tournament in
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
. At the time, Trump was the host of the reality TV series
''The Apprentice'' and was married to
Melania Trump
Melania Trump ( ; born Melanija Knavs , Germanized as Melania Knauss ; born April 26, 1970) is a Slovene-American former model and businesswoman who served as First Lady of the United States from 2017 to 2021 as the wife of 45th president Do ...
. Their son,
Barron Trump
The family of Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 and owner of The Trump Organization, is a prominent American family active in real estate, entertainment, business, and politics. Trump, his wife Melania, a ...
, had been born four months earlier. According to Daniels, Trump invited her to his penthouse at
Harrah's Lake Tahoe
Harrah's Lake Tahoe is a hotel and casino in Stateline, Nevada. Harrah's is branded with the name of its former owner and operator William F. Harrah. It is now owned by Vici Properties and operated by Caesars Entertainment. The 18-story tower an ...
where the two had
sex
Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones ( ova, of ...
and talked about making her a guest on ''The Apprentice''. In 2011, Daniels considered selling the story to the celebrity magazine
''Life & Style'' for as Trump began exploring a potential presidential bid. His lawyer,
Michael Cohen, threatened to sue ''Life & Style'' when it asked
the Trump Organization
The Trump Organization is a group of about 500 business entities of which Donald Trump is the sole or principal owner. Around 250 of these entities use the Trump name. The organization was founded in 1927 by Donald Trump's paternal grandmother ...
for comment. Daniels' agent,
Gina Rodriguez
Gina Alexis Rodriguez-LoCicero (born July 30, 1984) is an American actress. She is known for her leading role as Jane Villanueva in The CW satirical romantic dramedy series ''Jane the Virgin'' (2014–2019), for which she received a Golden Glob ...
, leaked the story to gossip blog ''The Dirty'' in October. The post was taken down following complaints by Trump's lawyers, and Daniels disputed the story's veracity.
As Trump's
2016 presidential campaign began, Rodriguez approached multiple publications—including the ''
National Enquirer
The ''National Enquirer'' is an American tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1926, the newspaper has undergone a number of changes over the years.
The ''National Enquirer'' openly acknowledges that it pays sources for tips, a common practice in tabl ...
''—and attempted to sell the story. The ''National Enquirer'' bought the story following the publication of
a lewd tape between Trump and the television host
Billy Bush
William Hall Bush (born October 13, 1971) is an American radio and television host. He is a member of the Bush family, a nephew of President George H. W. Bush and cousin of President George W. Bush and Florida governor Jeb Bush.
After appearin ...
in October 2016. In an effort to help the Trump campaign, the ''National Enquirer'' sought to suppress the story. Rather than paying Daniels, the ''National Enquirer'' editor-in-chief
Dylan Howard
Dylan Howard (born 19 January 1982) is an entertainment journalist and media executive. He is best known for his work as editor-in-chief of the ''National Enquirer'' tabloid between 2014 and 2020, a period in which he oversaw a number of scanda ...
negotiated a $130,000
non-disclosure agreement
A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is a legal contract or part of a contract between at least two parties that outlines confidential material, knowledge, or information that the parties wish to share with one another for certain purposes, but wish ...
between Daniels and Cohen. As the election neared, Cohen attempted to find the money and repeatedly delayed her payment.
Keith Davidson
Keith M. Davidson is an attorney in Beverly Hills, California. Davidson has represented clients who sought nondisclosure agreement settlements from notable individuals, including Donald Trump, Charlie Sheen, and Hulk Hogan. He has also managed p ...
, Daniels's lawyer, canceled the deal in October 2016. Realizing that his work to cover up the story could be revealed, Cohen drew the money from his
home equity line of credit
A home equity line of credit, or HELOC ( /ˈhiːˌlɒk/ ''HEE-lok''), is a revolving type of secured loan in which the lender agrees to lend a maximum amount within an agreed period (called a term), where the collateral is the borrower's propert ...
and sent it through a
shell company
A shell corporation is a company or corporation that exists only on paper and has no office and no employees, but may have a bank account or may hold passive investments or be the registered owner of assets, such as intellectual property, or s ...
incorporated in
Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
.
Trump initially denied knowing about the check made out to Daniels. In April 2018, aboard
Air Force One
Air Force One is the official air traffic control designated call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States. In common parlance, the term is used to denote U.S. Air Force aircraft modified and used ...
, he told a reporter he did not know where Cohen got the money.
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...
, an attorney for Trump, refuted these claims in a
Fox News
The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
interview, saying that Trump was aware of the payments. Trump wrote several checks, totaling $420,000 to Cohen. The checks reimbursed him for the non-disclosure agreement and covered the costs for Cohen to manipulate online polls to boost Trump's status. The $180,000 paid to Cohen was doubled to offset taxes, and $60,000 was added. These payments were made throughout 2017, during Trump's first year of his presidency. The payments made to Cohen were declared as a legal expense; if this were misleading, it would constitute a
misdemeanor
A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than adm ...
under New York law. Prosecutors have also considered the legality of Cohen's payment; under New York law, falsifying business records to cover up a crime is a
Class E felony
United States federal probation and supervised release are imposed at sentencing. The difference between probation and supervised release is that the former is imposed as a substitute for imprisonment, or in addition to home detention, while th ...
.
Affair with Karen McDougal
From 2006 to 2007, American model and actress
Karen McDougal
Karen McDougal (born March 23, 1971) is an American model and actress. She is known for her appearances in ''Playboy'' magazine as Playmate of the Month for December 1997 and Playmate of the Year of 1998.Fegley, Richard, & Wayda, Stephen (photog ...
had an affair with Trump. During Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, McDougal approached the ''National Enquirer'' to sell her story. The ''National Enquirer'', owned by
American Media Inc.
A360 Media, LLC (branded a360media), formerly American Media, Inc. (AMI), is an American publisher of magazines, supermarket tabloids, and books based in New York City. Originally affiliated with only the ''National Enquirer'', the media company ...
, agreed to acquire the story and suppress it for . ''The Wall Street Journal'' reported on the deal in October 2016. The deal was forged from Trump's relationship with
David Pecker
David Jay Pecker (born September 24, 1951) is an American publishing executive and businessman, who was the Chief executive officer, CEO of American Media, Inc., American Media until August 2020. He was the publisher of ''Men's Fitness'', ''Mus ...
, the CEO of American Media since the 1990s; internally, Trump was known as a "friend of Pecker". McDougal believed the story would surface regardless when another former
''Playboy'' model posted a tweet that alluded to their affair.
Payment to a Trump Tower doorman
In April 2018, ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' reported on the story of a former
Trump Tower
Trump Tower is a 58-story, mixed-use skyscraper at 721–725 Fifth Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, between East 56th and 57th Streets. The building contains the headquarters for the Trump Organization, as well ...
doorman named Dino Sajudin. Sajudin alleged that, in the 1980s, Trump fathered a child with a former employee and signed an agreement with American Media in late 2015 for . The agreement ensured the ''National Enquirer'' exclusive rights to the story. The ''National Enquirer'' attempted to prove the story's legitimacy in November 2015, staking out the homes of the employee's mother and daughter and hiring the services of criminal investigator Michael Mancuso. Although skepticism was levied against Sajudin's claims, several sources ''The New Yorker'' talked to believed that American Media's payment of Sajudin was unusual. In 2017, the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
attempted to investigate the story and neared publication; American Media met with the Associated Press to suppress the story. Immediately after ''The New Yorker'' contacted American Media for comment, American Media publication
Radar Online
Radar Online is an American entertainment and gossip website that was first published as a print and online publication in September 2003 before becoming exclusively online. As of 2008, the magazine has been owned by the publisher American Media ...
published a story claiming that Sajudin's story was false. ''The New Yorker'' was not able to verify Sajudin's claims.
Manhattan grand jury investigation
In January 2018, ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' reported on Cohen's payment to Daniels. Cohen pleaded guilty to eight criminal counts relating to the payment—as well as a payment made to McDougal—in August. In his admission of guilt, Cohen implicated Trump, stating that he acted "at the direction of a candidate for federal office". In December 2018, Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison.
Following Cohen's admission of guilt,
Cyrus Vance Jr.
Cyrus Roberts Vance Jr. (born June 14, 1954) is an American attorney and politician who served as the New York County District Attorney, District Attorney of Manhattan, New York County, New York (state), New York, also known as the Manhattan Dis ...
—the
Manhattan District Attorney
The New York County District Attorney, also known as the Manhattan District Attorney, is the elected district attorney for New York County (Manhattan), New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws ...
—opened an investigation against the Trump Organization and two of its executives. The office paused its inquiry when federal prosecutors of the
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York
The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York is the chief federal law enforcement officer in eight New York counties: New York (Manhattan), Bronx, Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange, Dutchess and Sullivan. Establishe ...
(SDNY) began a separate investigation into the payments; Vance said after Trump's indictment that SDNY had asked him to "stand down" and he complied. In July 2019, SDNY prosecutors stated that they concluded their inquiry into Trump and signaled that he would not be charged, though a Justice Department policy prohibits the indictment of a sitting president. The Manhattan district attorney's office then issued a
subpoena
A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...
for the Trump Organization in August, seeking documents relating to the payments. Additionally, the office subpoenaed accounting firm
Mazars USA
Mazars is a global audit, accounting and consulting group employing more than 42,000 professionals in more than 90 countries through member firms. With head offices in France, Mazars has a network of correspondent partners and joint ventures in ...
, demanding eight years of Trump's corporate tax returns. Trump's lawyers sued Vance to block the subpoena, citing Trump's immunity from criminal inquiries as the president of the United States; in ''
Trump v. Vance
''Trump v. Vance'', 591 U.S. ___ (2020), was a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark US Supreme Court case arising from a subpoena issued in August 2019 by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. against Mazars, then- ...
'', the
Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
ruled 7–2 in favor of Vance, allowing the subpoena to continue.
In December 2020, Manhattan prosecutors began intensifying their investigation, investigating employees of
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Sto ...
and insurance brokerage
Aon
Aon or AON may refer to:
* Aon (mythology), son of Poseidon in Greek mythology
* ''Aon'' (moth), a genus of moths in the family Erebidae
* Aon (trigraph), a Latin trigraph
* "Aon", a composition by jazz pianist Harold Mabern, 1968
Business an ...
. The Supreme Court ruled once more in February 2021 that the Manhattan district attorney's office could obtain Trump's tax records, and obtained these records following the Supreme Court's ruling. The Manhattan district attorney's office began focusing its attention on
Allen Weisselberg
Allen Howard Weisselberg (born August 15, 1947) is an American businessman who was the chief financial officer (CFO) of the Trump Organization. Weisselberg served as a co-trustee of a trust set up in 2017 by Donald Trump before Trump's inaugurat ...
, the
chief financial officer
The chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization that is assigned the primary responsibility for managing the company's finances, including financial planning, management of financial risks, record-keeping, and financ ...
(CFO) of the Trump Organization, and charged the Trump Organization with running a tax scheme in July. Following the
2021 New York County District Attorney election
The 2021 New York County District Attorney election will be held on November 2, 2021, to elect the New York County District Attorney. The incumbent, Cyrus Vance Jr., had announced in March 2021 that he would not seek a fourth term.
The Democr ...
,
Alvin Bragg
Alvin Leonard Bragg Jr. (born October 21, 1973) is an American politician and lawyer from the state of New York who is serving as the New York County District Attorney. In 2021, he became the first African-American and first person of color elect ...
succeeded Vance as the Manhattan District Attorney. In February 2022,
Mark F. Pomerantz and
Carey Dunne, the two prosecutors retained by Bragg to lead the investigation, resigned, asserting Bragg was not pursuing charges against Trump aggressively enough. Bragg continued the investigation throughout 2022, and moved to continue the hush money inquiry into Trump.
In January 2023, the Manhattan district attorney's office impaneled a 23-person
grand jury
A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...
, and began presenting evidence of Trump's role in paying Stormy Daniels. The grand jury had been hearing evidence for two months leading up to the indictment, typically meeting on Mondays and Wednesdays.
In March 2023, prosecutors signaled an indictment was likely, and on March 18, Trump claimed that he was to be arrested the following week, calling for protests in anticipation of a possible indictment.
New York City Police
The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the New York City, City of New York, the largest and one of ...
began to increase security in preparation for the expected indictment on March 21, and a second time for the second expected indictment on March 30.
Metal barriers were set up around
Trump Tower
Trump Tower is a 58-story, mixed-use skyscraper at 721–725 Fifth Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, between East 56th and 57th Streets. The building contains the headquarters for the Trump Organization, as well ...
and the district Criminal Court Building. A law enforcement source told ''
Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was estab ...
'' that police would close streets around the courthouse in advance of Trump's expected appearance on April 4.
On March 30, prior to the grand jury voting to indict, an unidentified witness testified for approximately 30 minutes to them.
Pre-indictment statements
In early 2023, while an indictment was widely anticipated, it remained publicly unknown when the Manhattan grand jury would finally decide whether to indict. The timing of the March 30 indictment reportedly surprised Trump and his team, who learned about it from the news. His attorneys had believed it was still weeks away and had expected the district attorney's office to inform them directly. On March 18, Trump wrote on
Truth Social
Truth Social (stylized as TRUTH Social) is a social media platform created by Trump Media & Technology Group, an American media and technology company founded in October 2021 by former U.S. president Donald Trump. It has been called a competitor ...
that he would be arrested on March 21 and called for protests to "take our nation back!"
''Time'' magazine reported that prominent supporters and far-right groups who responded to his call in the
January 6 U.S. Capitol attack were reluctant. A demonstration was held by the
New York Young Republican Club
The New York Young Republican Club (NYYRC) is an organization for members of the Republican Party between the ages of 18 and 40 in New York City. The New York Young Republican Club is the oldest and largest chapter in the United States, founded ...
on March20, though the presence of journalists vastly outnumbered it. On March 22, a post was made on Trump's Truth Social account featuring two side-by-side images; one image showed Trump with a baseball bat, and the other image showed prosecutor Alvin Bragg.
The post was eventually deleted, with Trump explaining in an interview that the post shared an article by the National File, a right-wing blog, that had those side-by-side images, which was why the images appeared in his Truth Social post. On March 23, Trump wrote on Truth Social that "potential death & destruction in such a false charge
f himselfcould be catastrophic" for America, and that only an America-hating "degenerate psychopath" would charge him.
[ He also called District Attorney Bragg an "animal", which many have said has racist overtones.
]
Proceedings
Indictment
The Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Trump on March 30. The indictment was filed with the New York Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...
(which is the ordinary trial court for felonies in the state of New York and not the final court of appeal for the state) at the end of the business day
A business day means any day except any Saturday, any Sunday, or any day which is a legal holiday or any day on which banking institutions are authorized or required by law or other governmental action to close.
The definition of a business day ...
on March30. The charges were under seal
Filing under seal is a procedure allowing sensitive or confidential information to be filed with a court without becoming a matter of public record. The court generally must give permission for the material to remain under seal.
Filing confident ...
until published when Trump was arraigned
Arraignment is a formal reading of a criminal charging document in the presence of the defendant, to inform them of the charges against them. In response to arraignment, the accused is expected to enter a plea. Acceptable pleas vary among jurisdi ...
in the Manhattan Criminal Court. The charges are related to Trump's payment to Stormy Daniels as hush money, which could be considered a violation of campaign finance rules under federal law because it helped his election bid. The payment was listed in his business records as a "legal expense" payable to Michael Cohen, whereas the indictment alleges that the payments to Cohen were really to reimburse Cohen for the earlier, allegedly illicit, payment to Daniels. Falsifying business records is a misdemeanor under New York state law and can be a felony if committed to cover up another crime. This requires the prosecution office to link a crime committed under state law to one committed under federal law.
Arraignment
On April 3, Trump flew from Palm Beach International Airport
Palm Beach International Airport is a public airport in Palm Beach County, Florida, located just west of the city of West Palm Beach, Florida, United States, which it serves as the primary airport for. It is also the primary airport for most o ...
into LaGuardia Airport
LaGuardia Airport is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. Covering , the facility was established in 1929 and began operating as a public airport in 1939. It is named after former New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia. ...
on his private plane, and took his motorcade to Trump Tower, where he stayed the night. Todd Blanche, a lawyer who had defended Paul Manafort
Paul John Manafort Jr. (; born April 1, 1949) is an American lobbyist, political consultant, and attorney. A long-time Republican Party campaign consultant, he chaired the Trump presidential campaign from June to August 2016. Manafort served ...
during his 2016 fraud trial, had recently resigned from his law firm to aid Trump's case. Police increased security in and around Manhattan ahead of the arraignment; authorities said there were no credible threats of violence or organized plans of protests. Eric Adams
Eric Leroy Adams (born September 1, 1960) is an American politician and retired police captain serving as the 110th mayor of New York City since January 1, 2022.
Adams was an officer in the New York City Transit Police and then the New York C ...
, the mayor of New York City, warned protestors to be peaceful. Acting New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan is presiding over the case. Merchan denied a motion filed by media organizations to allow a television broadcast of the arraignment or to allow electronic devices to be used in the courtroom, but allowed five press pool
A press pool, media pool or news pool is an arrangement wherein a group of news gathering organizations combine their resources in the collection of news. A pool feed is then distributed to members of the broadcast pool who are free to edit it ...
still photographers. Courtroom sketch
A courtroom sketch is an artistic depiction of the proceedings in a court of law. In many jurisdictions, cameras are not allowed in courtrooms in order to prevent distractions and preserve privacy. This requires news media to rely on sketch a ...
artists also documented the proceedings. The courtroom's glass doors were covered as a security measure.
On April 4, 2023, as Trump's motorcade approached the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse, he posted to Truth Social
Truth Social (stylized as TRUTH Social) is a social media platform created by Trump Media & Technology Group, an American media and technology company founded in October 2021 by former U.S. president Donald Trump. It has been called a competitor ...
: "Can't believe this is happening in America. MAGA!" Upon entering the courthouse, he was put in police custody and placed under arrest. He was booked and fingerprinted, but he was not handcuffed, nor was a mug shot
A mug shot or mugshot (an informal term for police photograph or booking photograph) is a photographic portrait of a person from the shoulders up, typically taken after a person is arrested. The original purpose of the mug shot was to allow law e ...
taken. Trump entered the courtroom an hour later, pleading not guilty to 34 felony charges. The indictment was unsealed (publicly released) shortly thereafter, charging Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree as part of a "conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the 2016 election." At the arraignment, Merchan warned Trump not to use social media to incite violence.
Immediately after the arraignment
Arraignment is a formal reading of a criminal charging document in the presence of the defendant, to inform them of the charges against them. In response to arraignment, the accused is expected to enter a plea. Acceptable pleas vary among jurisd ...
, Trump returned to Mar-a-Lago and addressed a crowd of supporters in the evening. Trump made several false claims about topics such as his handling of government documents, Bragg supposedly being connected to George Soros
George Soros ( name written in eastern order), (born György Schwartz, August 12, 1930) is a Hungarian-American businessman and philanthropist. , he had a net worth of US$8.6 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated mo ...
and the Trump–Raffensperger phone call
On January 2, 2021, during an hour-long conference call, then-U.S. President Donald Trump pressured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to change the state's election results from the 2020 presidential election. Trump had been defeat ...
.
Pretrial proceedings
During Trump's arraignment, the court set deadlines for pre-trial proceedings, including for prosecutors to provide discovery
Discovery may refer to:
* Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown
* Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown
* Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence
Discovery, The Discovery ...
to the defense. The court set a deadline of August 8, 2023, for pre-trial motions to be filed.[ Trump's attorney ]Joe Tacopina
Joseph Tacopina (born 14 April, 1966) is an American lawyer. He was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York to Italian immigrants.
Early life and education
Raised in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, Tacopina attended Poly Prep and Skidmore College, be ...
said the defense expects to file a motion to dismiss the indictment. Prosecutors' responses to defense motions will be due on September 19, 2023.[
As he has done in many other cases, Trump is expected to use "attack-and-delay" tactics, targeting the prosecutors and the judge while prolonging proceedings. If he does that, the case could continue into late 2024, near the presidential election.
In May 2023, Trump filed a motion seeking to move the New York case to federal court; in court papers, his lawyers contended that the case "involves important federal questions"; asserted that the case arises from "conduct performed while in office"; and argued that he could only be tried in federal court.][Michael R. Sisak]
Donald Trump seeks to move NY criminal case to federal court
Associated Press (May 4, 2023). Federal judge Alvin Hellerstein
Alvin Kenneth Hellerstein (born December 28, 1933) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and has presided over several high-profile cases.
Education and career
Heller ...
set the hearing on the motion for June 27, 2023, and ruled that "in the meantime, proceedings may continue" in the state court. On July 19, Hellerstein denied Trump's request, as legal experts had predicted. Even if the case had been moved to federal court, New York state law would have continued to apply.
In a May 2023 hearing and court filing, prosecutors expressed concern that Trump would misuse evidence obtained through pretrial discovery procedure to attack people involved in the case, including witnesses.[ Justice Merchan declined to issue a gag order or prohibit Trump from publicly commenting about the case against him,][ but issued a protective order setting rules for the use of social media involving elements of the case, and set a hearing (with Trump to appear remotely) to explain the rules.
]
Trial
Unless the case is dismissed, a trial is expected. During the arraignment, possible trial dates were discussed: prosecutors proposed January 2024, but Trump's defense team objected, saying that the trial should be set for later in 2024.[ On May 23, 2023, Justice Merchan set the trial for March 25, 2024.
If the case goes to trial, Michael Cohen is expected to be a key witness. Cohen, Trump's former "fixer" and attorney, pleaded guilty to campaign-finance violations for his payments to Daniels during the 2016 campaign and served prison time; he testified that Trump directed him to pay Daniels during the 2016 campaign. Prosecutors also plan to call Daniels as a witness.][ On April 12, in a separate legal action, Trump sued Cohen, seeking $500 million in damages for breach of contract.
If Trump is convicted, each count for which he is convicted could result in a prison sentence of up to four years, to be served consecutively. The judge could also choose to impose no prison sentence. A conviction would not legally prohibit Trump from continuing his campaign in the 2024 presidential election, nor would he be forbidden from assuming presidency should he win. Trump has also stated in an April 2023 Fox News interview with ]Tucker Carlson
Tucker Swanson McNear Carlson (born May 16, 1969) is an American television host, conservative political commentator and writer who has hosted the nightly political talk show ''Tucker Carlson Tonight'' on Fox News since 2016.
Carlson began h ...
that he would not drop his candidacy in the 2024 U.S. presidential election if he is convicted.
Commentary and responses
Public opinion
Following the indictment, an ABC News
ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
/Ipsos
Ipsos Group S.A. () (an acronym of ) is a multinational market research and consulting firm with headquarters in Paris, France. The company was founded in 1975 by Didier Truchot, Chairman of the company, and has been publicly traded on the Pa ...
poll conducted from March 31 to April 1 shows a plurality of Americans believed Trump should be charged, with 45% of voters believing Trump should be charged, 32% believing he should not, and 23% saying that they "don't know". The poll was split between party lines, with 88% of Democrats and 16% of Republicans believing Trump should be charged. A CNN poll conducted from March 31 to April 1 found that 60% of Americans approved of the indictment, but that 76% of Americans believed that it was politically motivated.
ABC News
ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
/Ipsos
Ipsos Group S.A. () (an acronym of ) is a multinational market research and consulting firm with headquarters in Paris, France. The company was founded in 1975 by Didier Truchot, Chairman of the company, and has been publicly traded on the Pa ...
conducted a second poll from April 6 to April 7, showing a 5% increase to 50% among Americans who believe Trump should be charged, of which this view among Americans with no party preference rose to 54% from 40%. Meanwhile, 53% of Americans believe Trump intentionally did something illegal. Regarding distribution among political parties according to the poll, 87% of Democrats, 57% of Independents, and 19% of Republicans are in favor.
Trump
Trump attributed his indictment to political persecution
Political repression is the act of a state entity controlling a citizenry by force for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing the citizenry's ability to take part in the political life of a society, thereby ...
and election interference, among other things. He sent emails to his supporters asking for donations to "defend our movement from the never-ending witch hunts" and wrote that donations would have a "1,500% impact". The 2024 Trump campaign stated that it received over $4 million of donations in the 24 hours after the indictment was announced, and $7 million within three days.
The day after Trump was indicted, he criticized Juan Merchan, the New York Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...
judge set to oversee the case. He claimed that Merchan "hates" him and treated his companies "viciously" in a related case, and that he "strong armed" Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg
Allen Howard Weisselberg (born August 15, 1947) is an American businessman who was the chief financial officer (CFO) of the Trump Organization. Weisselberg served as a co-trustee of a trust set up in 2017 by Donald Trump before Trump's inaugurat ...
into accepting a plea deal, though Weisselberg had reached the deal with prosecutors and his own lawyers and Merchan only approved it. Trump also claimed that Merchan had been "hand picked by Bragg & the prosecutors" although judges are randomly assigned and prosecutors had no role in Merchan's assignment. After the indictment, Trump and a small number of allies in the GOP advocated cutting funds for the Justice Department and the FBI, with Trump saying in his social media platform that the law enforcement were weaponized by the democrats.
Republicans
Congressional Republicans generally condemned the indictment as unprecedented and a weaponization of justice. Some alleged the indictment constituted election interference, as Trump was an announced candidate in the November 2024 presidential election. Kevin McCarthy
Kevin Owen McCarthy (born January 26, 1965) is an American politician, serving as Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, House Minority Leader in the United States House of Representatives since 2019. A member of the Rep ...
, the speaker of the House
The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England.
Usage
The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...
, tweeted: "Alvin Bragg has irreparably damaged our country in an attempt to interfere in our Presidential election. As he routinely frees violent criminals to terrorize the public, he weaponized our sacred system of justice against President Donald Trump. The American people will not tolerate this injustice, and the House of Representatives will hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account." When Senator Lindsey Graham
Lindsey Olin Graham (born July 9, 1955) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from South Carolina, a seat he has held since 2003. A member of the Republican Party, Graham chaired the Senate Committee ...
was interviewed by Fox News, he stated that "you need to help this man, Donald J. Trump. They're trying to drain him dry ... Go to DonaldJTrump.com and give money so he can defend himself."
On March 20, Jim Jordan
James Daniel Jordan (born February 17, 1964) is an American politician currently serving in his ninth term in the U.S. House of Representatives as the representative for since 2007.
A member of the Republican Party, he is a two-tim ...
, James Comer and Bryan Steil
Bryan George Steil ( ; born March 3, 1981) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Wisconsin's 1st congressional district. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Early life and education
Stei ...
, chairs of the House Judiciary
The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
, Oversight
Oversight may refer to:
Governance
*Regulation – rulemaking
*Separation of powers in state governance (checks and balances) - the concept of separate branches of government or agencies exercising authority over one another
*Checks and control ...
and Administration
Administration may refer to:
Management of organizations
* Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal
** Administrative assistant, Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an admini ...
committees, respectively, had sent Bragg a letter calling for him to testify before their committees, and to provide communications, documents and testimony about the inquiry, calling the upcoming indictment an "unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority." Later they told Bragg they might consider legislation "to protect former and/or current Presidents from politically motivated prosecutions by state and local officials." Bragg's office wrote back that the requests were an "unlawful incursion into New York's sovereignty," noting such information about ongoing investigations was confidential under state law. Jordan in February 2023 had received a private request from Trump's lawyer Joe Tacopina to investigate Bragg for his actions against Trump, according to ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' and CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
. Representative Elise Stefanik
Elise Marie Stefanik (; born July 2, 1984) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2015. As chair of the House Republican Conference since 2021, she is the third-ranking House Republican. Stefanik's district cover ...
, the House Republican Conference
The House Republican Conference is the party caucus for Republicans in the United States House of Representatives. It hosts meetings and is the primary forum for communicating the party's message to members. The Conference produces a daily pub ...
chair, has been briefing Trump on House Republicans' committee work, including the House committees' plans to respond to Bragg, according to CNN on March 28.[ Representative ]Marjorie Taylor Greene
Marjorie Taylor Greene (born May 27, 1974), also known by her initials MTG, is an American politician, businesswoman, and far-right conspiracy theorist
Sources describing Greene as "far-right" include:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* who has served as th ...
, a member of the House Oversight Committee, has acknowledged informing Trump of "everything that we're doing ... He seems very plugged in at all times. Sometimes I'm shocked at how he knows all these things."[ On April 11, Bragg sued Jordan in federal court, alleging that Jordan was trying to "intimidate and attack" him.
Many of Trump's political rivals, such as entrepreneur ]Vivek Ramaswamy
Vivek Ramaswamy (born August 9, 1985) is an American entrepreneur in the healthcare and technology sectors, a political commentator, and a ''New York Times'' bestselling author. In 2022, he founded Strive Asset Management and currently serves as t ...
and former Governor of South Carolina Nikki Haley
Nimrata Nikki Haley (née Randhawa; born January 20, 1972) is an American diplomat and politician who served as the 116th and first female governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017, and as the 29th United States ambassador to the United Na ...
, both of whom are also running for the presidential nomination, expressed opposition to the indictment. Former Governor of Arkansas
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...
and potential contender for the presidency Asa Hutchinson
William Asa Hutchinson II (, '' AY-sə''; born December 3, 1950) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who is the 46th and current governor of Arkansas. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U.S. attorney for the Fort Smit ...
argued for supporting the legal process, but he also said that he hoped voters would still be able to decide for themselves if Trump should be elected. He further stated that Trump should step aside from the presidential nomination and called the indictment a "distraction". Former vice president Mike Pence
Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...
called the indictment an outrage and a "political prosecution". Ron DeSantis
Ronald Dion DeSantis (; born September 14, 1978) is an American politician serving as the 46th governor of Florida since January 2019. A member of the Republican Party, DeSantis represented Florida's 6th district in the U.S. House of Represe ...
, the governor of Florida
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...
, the state in which Trump resides, said that the state of Florida would not assist with any extradition
Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdict ...
of Trump to New York. The U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
previously ruled in ''Puerto Rico v. Branstad
''Puerto Rico v. Branstad'', 483 U.S. 219 (1987), was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States that ruled unanimously that federal courts have the power to enforce extraditions based on the Extradition Clause of Article Four of t ...
'' (1987) that governors cannot reject the extradition requests of other states, based on Article IV of the U.S. Constitution, and that federal courts can enforce such extradition if needed.
Bill Barr, Former Attorney General, considered the Democratic strategists know this case will help Trump and they want him to be the Republican nominee because he is the "weakest of the Republican candidates," and predicted that he would be defeated by Biden in the 2024 presidential election. Barr also considers that this case lacks merit, calling it "transparently an abuse of prosecutorial power to accomplish a political and … an unjust case."
Democrats
Democratic Representative Adam Schiff
Adam Bennett Schiff (born June 22, 1960) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who has served as a U.S. representative since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, he has represented since 2013.
Schiff's district (numbered as the 2 ...
tweeted: "The indictment of a former president is unprecedented. But so too is the unlawful conduct in which Trump has been engaged." Schiff served as the lead impeachment manager
An impeachment manager is a legislator appointed to serve as a prosecutor in an impeachment trial. They are also often called "House managers" or "House impeachment manager" when appointed from a legislative chamber that is called a "House of Repr ...
during Trump's first impeachment trial. The Biden administration said they would not take part in the public discussion. Democrats have billed the indictment as Trump being held accountable under the law. Democratic Representative Jamaal Bowman
Jamaal Anthony Bowman (born April 1, 1976) is an American politician and educator serving as the U.S. representative for since 2021. The district covers much of the north Bronx, as well as the southern half of Westchester County, including Mou ...
shouted "Get the hell out of here!" at Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene
Marjorie Taylor Greene (born May 27, 1974), also known by her initials MTG, is an American politician, businesswoman, and far-right conspiracy theorist
Sources describing Greene as "far-right" include:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* who has served as th ...
for supporting Trump during a Trump protest in New York City.
Legal analysis
The indictment raises novel and complex legal issues.[ Legal experts contacted by the '']New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' said that the indictment combines business records charges with state election law in a way that had never previously been done in a case involving a Federal campaign. According to the Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
, the indictment involves difficult legal issues which the defense might be able to use to get it dismissed.
While the indictment has been published, it does not reveal the DA's "specific legal theory" behind the case; for example, it is not specific about "how each of the charges was elevated to a felony", nor does it "specify the potential underlying crimes". While the law does not require such specificity, attorney Ken White and law professor Richard Klein have commented that this makes it difficult to assess the legal merits of the case.
Media commentary
The ''Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
'' Edward Luce
Edward Geoffrey Luce (born 1 June 1968) is an English journalist and the ''Financial Times'' chief US commentator and columnist based in Washington, D.C.
Early life and education
Luce is the son of Rose Helen (née Nicholson) and Richard Luc ...
expressed disappointment that this indictment came before the conclusion of the Smith special counsel investigation
An ongoing special counsel investigation was opened by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on November 18, 2022, to continue two investigations initiated by the Justice Department (DOJ) regarding former U.S. President Donald Trump. Garland a ...
, and described the indictment as a legal technicality that is neither as serious nor as "easy to intuit" as the allegations concerning sedition and attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election
This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included.
January
*5 January:
**C ...
. Law professor Richard Hasen described the ongoing federal investigations into Trump as "much stronger both legally and factually" than this case. The ''Financial Times'' Joshua Chaffin said skeptics could compare the case to a similar one involving presidential candidate John Edwards, who obtained a mistrial after arguing that his payments were not intended to influence the election, but to protect his dying wife.
''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''s David Smith wrote that Trump has been adept at turning around allegations and playing the victim, and that his tactics will work with his base. Current and former Fox News
The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
hosts, including Sean Hannity
Sean Patrick Hannity (born December 30, 1961) is an American talk show host, conservative political commentator, and author. He is the host of ''The Sean Hannity Show'', a nationally syndicated talk radio show, and has also hosted a commentar ...
, Glenn Beck
Glenn Lee Beck (born February 10, 1964) is an American conservative political commentator, radio host, entrepreneur, and television producer. He is the CEO, founder, and owner of Mercury Radio Arts, the parent company of his television and rad ...
, and Tucker Carlson
Tucker Swanson McNear Carlson (born May 16, 1969) is an American television host, conservative political commentator and writer who has hosted the nightly political talk show ''Tucker Carlson Tonight'' on Fox News since 2016.
Carlson began h ...
, expressed outrage and concern over the indictment. Trump's indictment came following the release of text messages from several Fox News hosts denouncing Trump in ''Dominion Voting Systems v. Fox News
''Dominion Voting Systems v. Fox News Network'' (colloquially ''Dominion v. Fox'') was a U.S. defamation lawsuit filed in March 2021 by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox News Channel and its corporate parent Fox Corporation. Dominion's com ...
''.
Misinformation and conspiracy theories
Before Trump's indictment, ''Bellingcat
Bellingcat (stylised as bellngcat) is a Netherlands-based investigative journalism group that specialises in fact-checking and open-source intelligence (OSINT). It was founded by British journalist and former blogger Eliot Higgins in July 2014 ...
'' founder Eliot Higgins
Eliot Ward Higgins (born January 1979), who previously wrote under the pseudonym Brown Moses, is a British citizen journalist and former blogger, known for using open sources and social media for investigations. He is the founder of Bellingcat, ...
facetiously created an AI-generated image of Trump being arrested using Midjourney
Midjourney is an independent research lab that produces an artificial intelligence program under the same name that creates images from textual descriptions, similar to OpenAI's DALL-E and Stable Diffusion. It is speculated that the underlying ...
. Higgins was clear that the images were fictitious and did not seek to distribute them widely. Nonetheless, social media users spread the images without clarifying their origin.
Once the indictment was handed down, QAnon
QAnon ( , ) is an American political conspiracy theory and political movement. It originated in the American far-right political sphere in 2017. QAnon centers on fabricated claims made by an anonymous individual or individuals known as "Q". ...
accounts on Telegram
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...
began posting about "trusting the plan" and how "the storm is upon us", referencing conspiracy theories surrounding the ' Deep State'. Other conspiracy theories
A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources:
*
*
*
* The term has a nega ...
claimed that Bragg was "bought and paid for" by billionaire George Soros
George Soros ( name written in eastern order), (born György Schwartz, August 12, 1930) is a Hungarian-American businessman and philanthropist. , he had a net worth of US$8.6 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated mo ...
. This claim was promoted and spread by Trump himself as well as DeSantis, Senator J. D. Vance
James David Vance (born James Donald Bowman, August 2, 1984) is an American venture capitalist, author, and politician who is a United States senator-elect from Ohio, elected in 2022. A member of the Republican Party, he came to prominence with ...
, Senator Ron Johnson
Ronald Harold Johnson (born April 8, 1955) is an American accountant, businessman, and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Wisconsin, a seat he has held since 2011. A Republican, Johnson was first elected to the U.S. Se ...
, Texas Governor Greg Abbott
Gregory Wayne Abbott (born November 13, 1957) is an American politician, attorney, and former jurist serving as the 48th governor of Texas since 2015. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 50th Tex ...
, Representative Anna Paulina Luna, and Representative Paul Gosar
Paul Anthony Gosar ( ; born November 27, 1958) is an American Far-right politics, far-rightMultiple sources:
*
*
* politician and former dentist who has been the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for since 2013. A Re ...
, who called Bragg a "Soros D.A.". Although Soros did donate to progressive criminal justice reform
Criminal justice reform addresses structural issues in Criminal justice, criminal justice systems such as racial profiling, police brutality, overcriminalization, mass incarceration, and recidivism. Criminal justice reform can take place at any poi ...
group Color of Change
Color of Change is a progressive nonprofit civil rights advocacy organization in the United States. It was formed in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in order to use online resources to strengthen the political voice of African Amer ...
, which contributed to Bragg's campaign, Soros was only one of many donors to Color of Change, and he had no contact with Bragg. Threats were also directed at Soros and Bragg. Some on Trump's social media platform Truth Social
Truth Social (stylized as TRUTH Social) is a social media platform created by Trump Media & Technology Group, an American media and technology company founded in October 2021 by former U.S. president Donald Trump. It has been called a competitor ...
called for armed defense of Mar-a-Lago
Mar-a-Lago ( from the Spanish for ''sea to lake'') is a resort and national historic landmark in Palm Beach, Florida, owned by former U.S. president Donald Trump. Trump acquired Mar-a-Lago in 1985 and referred to it as his "Winter White House" ...
, though there seems to be no real coordinated effort.
Other investigations
Separately, Trump is being investigated:
* In Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, for his efforts to overturn that state's 2020 presidential election results. The investigation is led by the Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis
Fani Taifa Willis (, born October 27, 1971) is an American attorney from the state of Georgia. She is the district attorney of Fulton County, Georgia, which contains most of Atlanta. She is the first woman to hold the office of Fulton County dis ...
. Trump may be charged during the first half of 2023. The New York indictment is not expected to affect this case.
* Federally, for his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results (this investigation is separate from the U.S. House investigation, which has ended).
* Federally, for his handling of classified and national defense
National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military attac ...
–related government documents.
New York attorney general Letitia James has a civil lawsuit against the Trump Organization. The trial is scheduled for October 2, 2023.
Recently concluded
On December 6, 2022, the Trump Organization
Trump most commonly refers to:
* Donald Trump (born 1946), 45th president of the United States (2017–2021)
* Trump (card games), any playing card given an ad-hoc high rank
Trump may also refer to:
Businesses and organizations
* Donald J. T ...
was convicted of all 17 criminal charges it faced, designating the business as a felon. Allan Weisselberg had a plea deal and began serving his prison sentence in early 2023.
On May 9, 2023, a jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation of E. Jean Carroll and awarded Carroll $5 million.
See also
* Arrests of Ulysses S. Grant
* Legal affairs of Donald Trump
* Public image of Donald Trump
Notes
References
External links
Indictment
–
Statement of Facts
–
{{Donald Trump
2023 controversies in the United States
2023 in United States case law
2023 in American politics
2023 scandals
2023 in New York City
March 2023 events in the United States
Accounting scandals
Donald Trump controversies
Donald Trump litigation
Donald Trump prosecutions
Donald Trump 2024 presidential campaign
Trump
Trump most commonly refers to:
* Donald Trump (born 1946), 45th president of the United States (2017–2021)
* Trump (card games), any playing card given an ad-hoc high rank
Trump may also refer to:
Businesses and organizations
* Donald J. T ...