Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 charges of felony business fraud in Manhattan Criminal Court on Tuesday afternoon. His arraignment followed the first arrest of an ex-president in U.S. history.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s case against Donald Trump centers around allegations the former president orchestrated illegal “catch and kill” payments in a scheme to suppress negative stories about him during the 2016 election that continued while he was in office, according to the indictment against him unsealed Thursday.
Donald Trump orchestrated a scheme to bolster his 2016 presidential campaign by paying hush money to suppress potentially damaging sexual allegations, Manhattan prosecutors alleged in charging the former president with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
After charging former President Donald Trump with 34 felony counts, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg told reporters, “These are felony crimes in New York state, no matter who you are. We cannot and will not normalize serious criminal conduct.”
“The People of the State of New York allege that Donald J. Trump repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal crimes that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election,” said District Attorney Bragg. “Manhattan is home to the country’s most significant business market. We cannot allow New York businesses to manipulate their records to cover up criminal conduct.”
