Trump Pleads Not Guilty to 34 Felony Counts of Falsifying Records

[aubiefifty 18,259]

rollingstone.com

 

Trump Pleads Not Guilty to 34 Felony Counts of Falsifying Records

Tim Dickinson

8–10 minutes

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Trump Pleads Not Guilty to 34 Felony Counts

The former president turned himself over to authorities in Manhattan on Tuesday

Donald Trump sits at the defense table with his defense team in a Manhattan court on April 4, 2023 in New York City. Seth Wenig-Pool/Getty Images

Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree — part of a complex scheme intended to cover up a hush money payment to a porn star. 

Trump surrendered to authorities for arrest in New York early Tuesday afternoon, and he pleaded not guilty in a Manhattan court. He is the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges. The not-guilty plea comes after a grand jury voted on Thursday to indict Trump, an unprecedented decision that promises to shake up the 2024 presidential race.

The indictment itself is bare-bones. It lays out a series of dozens of allegedly “false” financial transactions made by Trump “with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof.”

The Statement of Facts in the case, embedded below, is far more revealing.

It alleges that Trump “repeatedly and fraudulently” falsified business records “to conceal criminal conduct that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election.” A key “component of this scheme,” it alleges, was Trump’s direction that “an adult film actress” be “covertly paid $130,000… shortly before the election to prevent her from publicizing a sexual encounter with the Defendant.”

The document offers new allegations about the hush money payment to Stormy Daniels, including that Trump — after approving the deal — sought to “delay making a payment” in the hopes of dragging the process past Election Day. Trump allegedly hoped he “could avoid paying altogether, because at that point it would not matter if the story became public.”

The Trump charges have emerged after years of legal wrangling over the $130,000 payment, made in October 2016, to keep Daniels quiet about her alleged affair with Trump. The payment was made to aid Trump’s presidential bid, but it was not disclosed as a campaign contribution. Trump is accused, but not charged with, having “violated election laws.”

Trump lawyer/fixer Michael Cohen paid Daniels out of his own pocket, funneling the money through a shell corporation. The Statement of Facts alleges: “Before making the payment, Lawyer A” — i.e. Cohen — “confirmed with the Defendant that Defendant would pay him back.”

The Trump Organization then put Cohen on a $35,000 monthly retainer throughout 2017, ostensibly for his work as an attorney. But the Statement of Facts insists Cohen “was not being paid for legal services” and that Trump “caused his entities’ business records to be falsified to disguise his and others’ criminal conduct.”

The Statement of Facts also underscores troubling behind-the-scenes meetings to further this illegal scheme — including at the White House. It describes how Trump and Cohen “met in the Oval Office” in February 2017 “and confirmed this repayment arrangement.”

Trump has denied the affair and insisted that he never instructed Cohen to do anything illegal, suggesting he was following the advice of his counsel. But Cohen has testified that the initial payment and the covert reimbursement scheme were both executed at Trump’s direction. 

The Statement of Facts additionally describes overtures made to Cohen by other lawyers in Trump’s camp as the scheme initially came to light, putting Cohen in legal jeopardy. The document alleges that Cohen was approached by an attorney who “offered to represent him in the interest of maintaining a ‘back channel of communication’ to the Defendant,” Trump. This attorney allegedly communicated to Cohen: “You are ‘loved,’” and, “you have friends in high places.”

Rolling Stone reported in February that Trump’s advisers have told him to insist the payment was made to keep the alleged affair from his wife Melania, not to help his presidential campaign. Rolling Stone reported last month that Trump’s attorneys have been preparing him to lose the case.

Trump has been railing against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg since the news of his impending arrest broke last month, and especially since the grand jury voted to indict him last week. The former president has attacked the legitimacy of the case, calling it “Election Interference” and suggesting violence may be the only way to defend him against the prosecution.

“What kind of person can charge another person, in this case a former President of the United States, who got more votes than any sitting President in history, and leading candidate (by far!) for the Republican Party nomination, with a Crime, when it is known by all that NO Crime has been committed, & also known that potential death & destruction in such a false charge could be catastrophic for our Country?” Trump wrote last week.

Trump responded to a report about the number of charged against him on Monday night by writing that Bragg should “INDICT HIMSELF.”

[aubiefifty 18,259]

rollingstone.com

 

Marjorie Taylor Greene, George Santos Protest Trump Arrest in NYC

Ryan Bort

7–9 minutes

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MTG Flees Her Own Trump-Arrest Protest as Hecklers Drown Her Out

Tension is high as Trump supporters and detractors await the former president's arrest in New York City

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) speaks at a protest held in Collect Pond Park across the street from the Manhattan District Attorney's office in New York on Tuesday, April 4, 2023. AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah

Donald Trump is in New York City today, where he will soon be arrested and arraigned on what is expected to be north of 30 charges pertaining to a 2016 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. New York City has been heavily fortified with security, and supporters and detractors of the former president have descended on the area surrounding the courthouse to demonstrate.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) is one of the Trump supporters in town, and held a rally nearby. She left minutes after arriving, however, as anti-Trump protesters drowned her out as she attempted to speak through a megaphone. “This is a travesty,” Greene blared, calling Democrats the “party of violence” as she was shouted down by detractors.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams called Greene out by name on Monday, warning protesters to be on their “best behavior.” Greene bashed Adams for the few minutes she held a megaphone, surrounded largely by reporters. “Mayor Adams, you send your henchmen down here to commit assault against people by making loud noises,” she whined.

Marjorie Taylor Greene: "Mayor Adams…you send your henchmen down here to commit assault against people by making loud noises." pic.twitter.com/5MPuhbAfCH

— Republican Accountability (@AccountableGOP) April 4, 2023

Ben Collins of NBC News reported that the “loud noises” to which Greene was referring were at least partially the work of a self-identifying Trump supporter who had been handing out whistles. Greene later claimed New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams was also blowing a whistle.

Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) showed up to defend the president, as well. “It’s bad day for democracy,” he said. “What’s to stop the next prosecutor in two years?”

 

The scene was chaotic, with opposing protesters squaring off against each other, and at times literally facing each other from across barricades. Some chanted “USA! USA! USA!” Some chanted “**** Trump!” Some chanted “**** Joe Biden!” One Trump supporter appears to have rushed an anti-Trump sign in an attempt to tear it away.

JUST NOW: A Trump supporter just rushed the banner and tried to tear it up. Started attacking the anti-Trump protesters. Very ugly and heated. Swarmed by media. Police struggled to get in to break it up. Getting heated. pic.twitter.com/H2pfiHI2cN

— David Mack (@davidmackau) April 4, 2023

The pro-Trump contingent showed up from elsewhere in New York, and outside of the city. “What they’re doing to him, it’s bullying, it’s mean, it’s domestic terrorism,” Kristine Goddard, who traveled from Washington, D.C., told Rolling Stone. “Alvin Bragg right now is using up all his resources [on Trump] while real crime is happening on the streets,” added Dion Cinci, from New York. “I think George Santos did what Joe Biden did,” she added of the Long Island congressman’s presence. “He lied his way to the Capitol.”

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Trump has called on social media for his supporters to “PROTEST” his indictment, and at times has suggested violence may be the only way to defend him against what he has described as “PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT.” Rolling Stone reported on Monday that Trump is relishing turning his arrest into a spectacle, opting to have it take place in the middle of the day rather than at night or on a video call. “It’s kind of a Jesus Christ thing,” said one source close to his legal team. “He is saying, ‘I’m absorbing all this pain from all around from everywhere so you don’t have to.'”

Trump is expected to return to Mar-a-Lago following his arrest and arraignment on Tuesday, where he will give an address at 8:15 p.m.

[aubiefifty 18,259]

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Donald Trump thinks being arraigned will help him. Donald Trump is a ******* idiot.

Donald Trump is the Wingnut Grievance Bubble's biggest whiny grievance baby

Jeff Tiedrich

Apr 4

this afternoon, in a courtroom in lower Manhattan, Donald Trump will be arraigned. Donald Trump thinks this will guarantee him a win in 2024.

Donald Trump is a ******* idiot.

Upgrade to paid

Trump didn’t have to come to Manhattan today. he was given the opportunity to be arraigned at his s***ty Florida golf motel via a zoom call. (Siri, show me an example of white privilege at its worst.)

but no. Trump wanted a perp walk. he wanted handcuffs. he wanted a spectacle. (Trump’s not getting those first two things. but he is getting the spectacle.)

because Trump thinks this will help him.

 

 

because Donald Trump is the biggest ******* delusional grievance baby ever to have dwelt inside the Wingnut Grievance Bubble.

I’ve written before about the Wingnut Grievance Bubble, that enclosed feedback loop where untruths, repugnant behavior and harebrained notions are amplified and unchallenged, causing all who dwell within to fall right on their stupid ******* faces the moment they step out into the real world. most recently, it was life inside the Bubble that caused Scott Adams to forget that out in the real world, you can’t be an aggressively racist a**hole.

but of all the delusional dipshits who live inside the Bubble, there is no dipshit more delusional than Donald Trump.

inside his rapidly deteriorating brain, Trump is absolutely convinced that the public spectacle of his indictment will rally all of America to his side and propel him to a massive victory in 2024.

out in the real world, however, the majority of Americans believe that Trump deserves everything that courts and prosecutors are about to throw at him.

(of course, Trump will dupe his deranged worshipers into sending him millions more dollars, but sadly, there’s nothing that can be done about fools and their money.)

but here’s the thing:

Trump’s narrow victory in 2016 was due a lot of fluky things that came together in one perfect horrible storm, but one huge factor was that the majority of ‘undecideds,’ the low-information voters who really don’t pay attention to politics, didn’t know that TrUmP tHe SuCcEsSfUl BuSiNeSsMaN was a character he played on a tv show, and that in real life Trump is actually a serial ****-up.

Jeff Tiedrich @itsJeffTiedrich

here's the thing: "successful businessman" is a character Trump played on a TV show. in real life, Trump is a serial ****-up who had to turn to laundering Russian mob money once his Klansman father was no longer around to bail him out of one ******* disastrous deal after another

2:48 PM ∙ Oct 21, 2019

25,017Likes5,923Retweets

these voters were willing to roll the dice because even if they didn’t approve of Trump’s boorish personality, at least here was a guy who knew how to run a business. how could that be bad for America?

well, those voters have learned their lesson. they might have been uninformed, but they’re not stupid. they now know the real Trump.

they might have been there for him in 2016, but they were gone in 2020 and they’re going to be even more gone in 2024 as Trump sinks into a legal hell of his own making.

the man is ******* toxic.

and the only people left to vote for him are the crazies. and thank ******* god, there aren’t enough crazies to carry an election.

enjoy your big stupid arraignment, Trump. from here on out, your life only gets increasingly worse.

everyone is entitled to my own opinion is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

[aubiefifty 18,259]

Trump's arrest: Inside the Manhattan courtroom

 

1.5k

Caitlin Dickson and Christopher Wilson

Tue, April 4, 2023 at 4:15 PM CDT

 

 

 

Former President Donald Trump with his attorneys Joe Tacopina and Boris Epshteyn during his arraignment in court on Tuesday in New York City. (Andrew Kelly/Getty Images)

NEW YORK — Many hours after reporters began camping out for access to a sweltering 15th-floor Manhattan courtroom, a former U.S. president was formally charged with a crime for the first time in history.

Donald Trump entered the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse around 1:30 p.m. ET for processing, coming into the courtroom itself an hour later, 15 minutes after the arraignment’s scheduled start time. The former president spoke only three times during the 55-minute hearing, once to plead not guilty and twice to acknowledge his rights as a defendant.

Ahead of Trump’s arrival, press in the courtroom were repeatedly reminded that there were “no electronics allowed in the courtroom and no moving.” There were at least 20 uniformed New York state court officers in the room to enforce those rules, as well as other non-uniformed officers, presumably Secret Service. Approximately 50 reporters were in the actual courtroom, not including a small number of still photographers allowed in briefly to capture images before the proceedings began. Trump appeared to turn toward them as they took photos.

 

Over the course of the hearing, the crowd outside — which contained Trump supporters and opponents and scores of additional media members gathered on an idyllic spring day — could at times be heard chanting and cheering.

 

Opponents of Trump gather outside the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse during his arraignment Tuesday. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

The prosecution raised concerns that Trump had made threatening statements on social media toward “our cities, our courts and our justice system,” citing “death and destruction” and “World War III,” as well as posting an image of himself holding a baseball bat next to a photo of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Trump’s defense attorneys said that the former president is entitled to discuss the case, but conceded that Trump had responded “forcefully” because he is “frustrated and upset.” Judge Juan Merchan told the legal teams to instruct their witnesses to refrain from making statements that have the “potential to incite violence and unrest” and not to make statements that undermine the rule of law.

Merchan set the next in-person hearing for Dec. 4, while the prosecution said it was hoping to go to trial in January of next year — about the time of the Iowa caucuses, where Trump is competing as a presidential candidate. Trump’s lawyers suggested they would seek to waive his right to appear at the Dec. 4 hearing, citing the great expense to the city and security concerns involved with having him appear in court. Merchan acknowledged that Tuesday had been a huge ordeal for everyone involved but that he still expected all defendants to appear in court, including high-profile ones.

Trump departed New York en route to Florida late Tuesday afternoon. He was scheduled to give remarks addressing the charges at his Mar-a-Lago club Tuesday evening.

 

An anti-Trump protester outside the Manhattan district attorney’s office on Tuesday. (Leonardo Munoz/AFP via Getty Images)

The Manhattan investigation is focused on a hush money payment made to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election. In the statement of facts released after the hearing concluded, Manhattan prosecutors charged that Trump “repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal criminal conduct that hid damaging information from the voting public.”

“From August 2015 to December 2017, the Defendant orchestrated a scheme with others to influence the 2016 presidential election by identifying and purchasing negative information about him to suppress its publication and benefit the Defendant’s electoral prospects,” the prosecutors said. “In order to execute the unlawful scheme, the participants violated election laws and made and caused false entries in the business records of various entities in New York. The participants also took steps that mischaracterized, for tax purposes, the true nature of the payments made in furtherance of the scheme.”

Addressing the media after the hearing, Bragg defended the decision to bring charges against Trump.

“I’ve been doing this for 24 years and I’m no stranger to rigorous, complex investigations,” Bragg said. “I bring cases when they’re ready. Having conducted a rigorous and thorough investigation, the case was ready to be brought. And it was brought.”

Trump is currently under investigation in multiple other cases, including a federal probe into his handling of sensitive documents and a Georgia probe into his attempts to overturn the 2020 election in the state.

 

[DKW 86 7,910]

I hope he is convicted on all 68 😉 felonies.

But while we are at it: I hope Hunter Biden goes down just as hard and embarrassingly. 

[AUFAN78 4,156]

"We are amusing ourselves to death." 

[SaltyTiger 8,578]

2 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree

What did you expect?