On Tuesday, April 4, Donald Trump appeared in court after being indicted by a New York grand jury on 34 felony charges related to hush money payments during his 2016 presidential election. The indictment, which covers each of the 34 counts, can now be found in HeinOnline’s U.S. Presidential Library.

The Details

Despite Trump no longer being president, he has not stopped making the news, from investigations into whether or not he incited the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot; to his hoarding of confidential documents at his Florida home, Mar-a-Lago; and now to 34 charges of falsifying business records in the first degree.

According to the Manhattan district attorney’s office, several of these payments were made out to two women who claimed to have had affairs with Trump—adult film actress Stormy Daniels^[1]Brian Farkas, Donald Trump and Stormy Daniels, 24 Dispute Resolution MAGAZINE 12 (2018). This article can be found in HeinOnline’s Law Journal Library. and former Playboy model Karen McDougal.^[2]Ruthann Robson, Sexing the Mueller Report, 50 Stetson L. REV. 143 (2020). This article can be found in HeinOnline’s Law Journal Library. These payments were designed to cover up information that could threaten Trump’s chances of winning the presidency in 2016. Other payments were made to a doorman at Trump Tower^[3]Len Niehoff, Catch and Kill: Does the First Amendment Protect Buying Speech to Bury It, 34 COMM. LAW. 4 (2019). This article can be found in HeinOnline’s Law Journal Library. who claimed he had information about a child that Trump has outside of wedlock.

In court on Tuesday, Trump pled not guilty to these charges. He did not need to post bail for release, so he was back at Mar-a-Lago by Tuesday night, where he spoke to supporters and claimed that the charges were political attacks by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, the judge, and the prosecutors in the case.

What’s Next?

Trump’s lawyers will likely dispute the charges and ask for the case to be dismissed, or for charges to be reduced, or for certain evidence to be removed from the trial.

Prosecutors have asked that Trump’s trial be held January 2024, which is before the 2024 Republican presidential primary. Trump’s lawyers have requested the trial be moved to spring. However, the judge has not made a decision on the exact date yet. Trump could avoid trial by pleading guilty, but it does not appear that he will do so.

Trump previously announced that he plans to run for president in 2024 and has already used this trial as fodder for his supporters. This is the first time that a former U.S. president has been arraigned in a criminal proceeding, but even if he is convicted, there is nothing in the Constitution that could prevent him from continuing his campaign. The only issue would be if he did go to jail, it would certainly make his campaign more difficult.

Additionally, there are ongoing investigations into other Trump actions. For example, there’s an investigation in Fulton County in Georgia regarding Trump’s potentially illegal efforts to get Georgia’s Secretary of State to create fraudulent votes^[4]Final Report of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (2022). This document can be found in HeinOnline’s U.S. Congressional Documents database. that would overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Federal prosecutors are also looking into whether there was illegal conduct involved in Trump’s handling of classified documents that were found at Mar-a-Lago, as well as whether he incited the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. New York State is investigating Trump for financial fraud^[5]2022 NY Slip Op 30538(U). This case can be found in Fastcase. regarding his company.

Keep Up With it All with the HeinOnline Blog

Make sure to subscribe to the HeinOnline Blog so you get our latest posts delivered straight to your inbox. We’ll be continuing to follow Donald Trump’s indictment and trial, as well as the other investigations leading up to the 2024 presidential elections.

Additionally, you can find all sorts of fascinating documents relating to the U.S. presidency in our U.S. Presidential Library. Be sure to check out the newly added indictment to get the full scope of the charges in Trump’s case.