Explained | The 34 felony charges against Donald Trump

Former United Statespresident Donald Trump on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, which are related to the role played by him in the hush-money payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels.

However, the prosecutors in the office of the Manhattan district attorney accused Trump of orchestrating the plan to purchase stories which may damage his reputation and trying to keep them under wraps, hence influencing the 2016 presidential election’s result.

“The defendant, Donald J. Trump, falsified New York business records in order to conceal an illegal conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the 2016 presidential election,” said Chris Conroy, a prosecutor at Trump’s arraignment.

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Generally falsifying business records is treated as a lesser misdemeanour, but Trump is facing the accusation of committing felony offences.

This reflects a more serious crime which can include prison time if he is given the maximum sentence. "At its core, this case today is one with allegations like so many of our white-collar cases," said New York City District Attorney Alvin Bragg, speaking about the charges levied against the former president.

"Allegations that someone lied, again and again, to protect their interests and evade the laws to which we are all held accountable,” he added. Trump, who had pleaded not guilty in the courtroom, insisted that there was nothing to be answered in the case.

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What the prosecutors accused Trump of?

The charges can be traced back to $130,000 hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels by Trump’s fixer Michael D. Cohen in the last days of the 2016 campaign. The payment, which Cohen claimed was made by him at the direction of Trump, suppressed the story of Daniels' sexual liaison with Trump.

Later, the money was reimbursed to Cohen by Trump and that’s where the fraud started, claimed prosecutors. The repayment made to Cohen was classified as legal expenses and a retainer agreement was cited in the internal records of Trump’s company.

The prosecutor claimed that there was no such expense and the retainer agreement was also false. The internal data includes 34 counts of falsifying business records - 11 counts included the checks, 11 are based on monthly invoices that were submitted to the company by Cohen, and 12 include entries in the general ledger for Trump’s trust.

The 34 felony counts filed against Donald Trump are related to the payments recorded as legal expenses in the Trump Organisation that had registered the cheques as "legal fees”.However, Cohen confirmed that they were reimbursements for the hush-money payment.

“The payment records, kept and maintained by the Trump Organisation, were false New York business records. In truth, there was no retainer agreement, and Lawyer A was not being paid for legal services rendered in 2017. The Defendant caused his entities' business records to be falsified to disguise his and others' criminal conduct,” the prosecution case stated.

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Why is it considered a felony?

Falsifying business records can be seen as a misdemeanour offence. To make it a felony, district attorney Alvin L. Bragg needs to prove Trump’s “intent to defraud” was used to carry out a second crime.

It is still unclear in this case whether Bragg has settled on the specifics of that second crime. In a press conference after Trump’s arraignment, Bragg mentioned various potential underlying crimes, like state election law’s violation that does not allow any conspiracy to promote “the election of a person to public office by unlawful means”.

How did Trump violate the election laws?

In a political campaign’s context, money paid to silence a person’s unflattering information can be seen as a campaign donation. In the federal court of campaign violations, Cohen was convicted because he made a payment worth $130,000 to Daniels which exceeded the legal limit of the donation made by an individual to a political candidate, which is $2,700.

Bragg alleged that since Trump handled the reimbursements made to Cohen, it violated the state election law of New York “which makes it a crime to conspire to promote a candidacy by unlawful means.”

Are prosecutors required to convict Trump of a second crime?

The prosecutors must only prove that Trump had the intent to “commit or conceal” a second crime. Trump doesn’t need to be charged with any second crime, and there is no need to prove that he committed one. However, the prosecutors have not yet revealed what crime or crimes they plan to rely on to elevate the charge to a felony.

What is the maximum sentence if court convicts Trump?

Trump is facing charges that belong to Class E felonies, which fall under the lowest category of felony offence conducted in New York and a person if convicted, can get a prison sentence of a maximum of four years per count, although if Trump is convicted a judge could sentence him to probation.

(With inputs from agencies)

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