Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records as he faced a New York judge – and became the first President of the United states to be arraigned and charged with a crime.
‘Not guilty,’ Trump said when asked how he pleaded.
Trump, 76, sat alongside his defense team in the Manhattan court room with his hands folded on his lap and a stony-faced look for the unprecedented hearing in the Stormy Daniels hush money case.
$150,000 to former Playboy model Karen McDougal, and a $130,000 payment to Daniels.
‘It’s not just about one payment,’ District Attorney Alvin Bragg said at a press conference after the hearing. ‘It is 34 business records. Uh 34 false statements and business records. They were concealing criminal conduct.’
All together the charges – falsifying business records in the first degree – carry a maximum sentence of more than 100 years in prison under New York law but, even if convicted on all charges, it’s unlikely Trump would be sentenced to that much time. Each charge is a low level felony that carries a maximum of four years in prison for each count.
There was no formal conspiracy charge but the state of facts released by prosecutors describes how Trump ‘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.’
During the hearing, Assistant District Attorney Christopher Conroy argued the payments were part of ‘an unlawful plan to identify and suppress negative information that could have undermined’ Trump’s presidential campaign.
The hearing lasted about an hour. Judge Juan Merchan did not put a gag order on Trump but did warn him not to post anything on social media that could cause unrest.
The former president was silent as he entered the courtroom and then as he left. He was released on his own recognizance. He is scheduled to return to his Mar-a-Lago home and speak later Tuesday night, about 8:15 pm ET. The next court hearing is set for December 4th.
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