Former President Donald Trump was found guilty of 34 counts of tampering with business records by a jury in New York City on Thursday, marking the end of a landmark trial stemming from a “hush money” payment made to an adult movie star ahead of the 2016 election.
The trial lasted about six weeks and the jury spent two days deliberating before reaching its verdict. Trump denounced the resolution as “rigged” and vowed to fight the ruling. His sentencing is scheduled for July 11.
Here are the basics of the charges, what happened at trial, and what’s next:
Trump was indicted on March 30, 2023, and charged with 34 counts in the state of first-degree tampering with business records, a crime committed in New York.
Trump was found guilty on all charges on May 30, 2024. The jury returned a unanimous verdict in the Manhattan courtroom, where the trial played out for six weeks.
Before beginning deliberations, Judge Juan Merchan asked jurors, before beginning deliberations, that in order to convict Trump of first-degree tampering with business records, they will have to unanimously determine not only that he caused the tampering with the records, but that he “conspired to publicize or save you from tampering with the records. ” Any user’s choice to a public workplace through illegal means.
The jury heard testimony about various “illegal means,” including: forgery of other business documents, violations of cross-financial laws, and violations of tax laws.
Prosecutors with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s Office said Trump met with former National Enquirer editor David Pecker and former fixer Michael Cohen at his Trump Tower in August 2015, and that the trio hatched a conspiracy to identify, buy and crush stories that could damage Trump’s reputation and presidential campaign.
Just days before the 2016 election, Cohen paid $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels, who claimed to have had sex with Trump in 2006. She agreed to keep her story a secret in exchange for the money.
After Trump’s presidency, Cohen earned $35,000 a month for a year in checks, the maximum of which was signed through Trump. Prosecutors said the checks and related business documents were illegally presented as invoices to Cohen for his legal work, when in fact they were meant to reimburse him, among other things, for the settlement with Daniels.
Trump’s lawyers said the deal with Pecker and the National Enquirer was not atypical for political campaigns, which try to sway media narratives about candidates. They said nondisclosure agreements like the one Cohen made with Daniels are also common.
As for the checks addressed to Cohen, Trump’s lawyers noted that Cohen’s name at the time was “the president’s private lawyer” and that he was being paid for ongoing legal work. They said Cohen and Trump had a verbal mandate, but not a signed agreement.
Trump has pleaded guilty to the fees he is opposed to and has denied any wrongdoing. He accused Bragg, a Democrat, of pursuing the case for political gain. Trump called the case a “scam” and said fees were “rigged” after the verdict. .
Trump, Cohen and Pecker were singled out at the trial. Pecker first took the stand through prosecutors and described the August 2015 Trump Tower meeting, as well as years of communications with Cohen and Trump about the project.
His testimony corroborated key moments relayed through Cohen, whose defense has continually sought to undermine credibility. Pecker’s time on the stand was the beginning of weeks of testimony from 18 other people before Cohen, his last witness. Prosecutors tried to use those weeks to back up Cohen’s account with corroborating evidence.
On the first day of their deliberations, the jury asked to hear a large amount of testimony from Pecker and Cohen related to the Trump Tower meeting.
Cohen said Trump got regular updates on efforts to cover up obscene stories about him when he ran for president in 2016, and that he backed the plan to falsify documents about them.
Cohen recounted three times when he, Pecker and the editor of the National Enquirer worked to secure the rights to articles containing lewd claims about Trump.
The jury heard a secret recording made by Cohen of a verbal exchange with Trump, in which Trump was comfortable telling a story told through another woman, named Karen McDougal.
“So how much are we going to pay for this? Trump can be heard on the tape.
Shortly after the Enquirer paid for McDougal’s story, Daniels’ story hit the market. His attorney contacted the Enquirer about selling the rights a day after the release of “Access Hollywood” in October 2016. In the recording, Trump heard him say he can simply “fuck [women] and “force them to do anything. “Registration posed a major risk to his electoral prospects.
Cohen recounted intense negotiations in which everyone involved — Trump, Cohen, Daniels, his lawyer, and the editor of the Enquirer — was aware that Daniels’ claim to have had a sexual relationship with Trump could have disastrous consequences for his campaign.
Cohen telegraphed Daniels’ lawyer $130,000 of his own on Oct. 28, 2016.
During his testimony, Cohen described how running for Trump for a decade was an “unbelievable” pleasure that turned sour after the “hush money” payment to Daniels became public in 2018.
He said he believes he is the target of a “pressure campaign” by Trump and his allies after the FBI raided his home and workplace that year, leading to two culprits pleading guilty to federal charges.
In scathing cross-examination by defense attorney Todd Blanche, Cohen claimed he has made a living loudly criticizing Trump.
He admitted he didn’t see Trump jailed and said so on his podcast.
Cohen also admitted to swearing mendacity at various events and, in a shocking moment, admitted for the first time to stealing tens of thousands of dollars from the Trump Organization.
Daniels was not involved in the scheme to influence the election. She never worked for Trump and was not involved in any of the crimes alleged in this case.
However, her history of sexual relations with Trump in 2006 was the catalyst that triggered a series of occasions leading up to this unprecedented felon trial. Prosecutors said she was called to the stand because Blanche denied having sex in her opening statement, a claim they believe refutes.
Daniels said he met Trump at a celebrity pass tournament in Nevada and then invited her through Trump’s bodyguard to a dinner with the prominent businessman. He said they met in a hotel suite that he described in detail, down to the tile floors, and that he hoped to stop by for dinner when they started talking business.
Daniels said Trump has shown a willing interest in his industry and happens to appreciate his ideas. After about two hours of conversation, with no dinner in sight, he excused himself to go to the bathroom. He remembers being shocked when he came out to see that Trump had stripped naked in a T-shirt and boxer shorts. She described the sexual relations that followed as reticent on her part.
This component of his testimony led the defense to ask for a mistrial, which he denied.
Daniels went on to describe her common interactions with Trump over the next year, adding a brief meeting with him at Trump Tower, because he promised to advocate for her to get a spot on his truth TV pageant. When he told her that happened, they stopped communicating.
Later, through a representative, he began buying food for his story and selling the rights. As Trump’s presidential bid gained momentum in 2016, those efforts intensified as well. They hit a fever pitch in October of that year, when the episode “Access Hollywood” aired. ” emerged.
Daniels said he realizes his story is potentially more valuable, as it could simply be bad for his campaign. Cohen testified about frantic efforts to buy it.
Trump’s conviction revives the sentencing portion of the case. Merchan, the judge, set July 11 as the date for Trump’s sentencing hearing. He asked the defense to file any motions it was contemplating requesting by June 13 and said prosecutors will have to respond by June 27. .
Falsifying business documents carries a maximum criminal sentence of 4 years and a $5,000 fine for each count, but Merchan has wide latitude in determining the penalty. Some experts expect Merchan to use other options, such as fines, probation or home confinement. But others say he could simply order Trump to enforce some prohibitions.