From 3h ago
Donald Trump has officially entered a plea of not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree in connection a hush-money scheme during the 2016 election, according to multiple reports.
The former president may speak to reporters after leaving the courtroom, and the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, plans to soon hold a press conference. Stay tuned.
Here’s a clip of the highlights of Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg’s press conference earlier, held at the courthouse where Donald Trump had just pleaded not guilty to 34 charges of falsifying business records.
As Bragg alleges, the fiddling of the business records was “made to cover up other crimes. These are felony crimes in New York state, no matter who you are.”
The prosecutor alleges that, among other things, the fiddled records were meant to conceal state election financing crimes.
Republican lawmakers in Tennessee who are taking action to kick out Democratic rivals because they joined a protest against gun violence after another horrific school shooting are “shrugging in the face” of the tragedy, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said earlier today at the daily media briefing, in Washington, DC.
House Republicans introduced three resolutions to expel Democratic state representatives Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson four days after the protest. The chamber’s Republican leadership also compared the gun control protest to an “insurrection”.
Expelling a house member is an extremely rare occurrence, with only two of the chamber’s members removed since the civil war.
The three have already been stripped of their committee assignments as more sanctions are expected, according to the Tennessee house speaker, Cameron Sexton.
At the press briefing in the west wing moments ago, Jean-Pierre slammed the actions by the Republicans.
A shooter gunned down three nine-year-olds and three adult staff at a private elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee, late last month.
Meanwhile, Jean-Pierre found several different ways to rebuff requests for comment from the White House on the criminal case against Donald Trump in New York, just moments after Joe Biden’s predecessor arrived at the criminal court in lower Manhattan and in a few moments will appear in court to hear charges unsealed after last week’s indictment.
Senator Mitt Romney, one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict Donald Trump for inciting the deadly January 6 insurrection in 2021, criticized the Manhattan district attorney’s office over its handling of the hush-money case.
“I believe President Trump’s character and conduct make him unfit for office. Even so, I believe the New York prosecutor has stretched to reach felony criminal charges in order to fit a political agenda,” Romney said in a statement.
“No one is above the law, not even former presidents, but everyone is entitled to equal treatment under the law. The prosecutor’s overreach sets a dangerous precedent for criminalizing political opponents and damages the public’s faith in our justice system.”
At his press conference this afternoon, the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, argued his office was obligated to pursue the case because investigators collected evidence indicating illegal activity.
“We today uphold our solemn responsibility to ensure that everyone stands equal before the law,” Bragg said. “No amount of money, no amount of power changes that enduring American principle.”
Donald Trump has now left New York after surrendering to authorities and pleading not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.
Trump will soon return to Florida, where he will deliver remarks on the charges he faces at his Mar-a-Lago resort at 8.15pm ET.
In a fundraising email to supporters sent moments ago, Trump said, “While we are living through the darkest hours of American history, I can say that at least for this moment right now, I am in great spirits.”
Trump then asked his supporters to consider contributing to his 2024 presidential campaign, saying, “I have never been more certain that we will win back the White House and save our Great Nation.”
At his press conference, Alvin Bragg asserted that the scheme to pay hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels to suppress the story of her alleged affair with Donald Trump ran afoul of multiple laws.
“The scheme violated New York election law, which makes it a crime to conspire to promote a candidacy by unlawful means,” the Manhattan district attorney said.
“The 130,000 dollar wire payment exceeded the federal campaign contribution cap, and the false statements in [American Media Inc’s] books violated New York law.”
The Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, took several questions from reporters after delivering his prepared remarks on Donald Trump’s indictment over hush-money payments.
Asked about the timing of the indictment, Bragg said, “I bring cases when they’re ready. Having now conducted a rigorous, thorough investigation, the case was ready to be brought, and it was brought.”
Another reporter noted that Bragg’s predecessor declined to pursue charges against Trump in this case and asked why the district attorney’s office decided to do so now.
“We have had available to the office additional evidence that was not in the office’s possession prior to my time here,” Bragg replied.
The Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, argued his office was obligated to pursue the case against Donald Trump regardless of the former president’s reputation and resources.
“We today uphold our solemn responsibility to ensure that everyone stands equal before the law,” Bragg said at his press conference. “No amount of money, no amount of power changes that enduring American principle.”
Donald Trump and his lawyers have accused the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, of overstating the significance of the allegations against the former president.
At his press conference, Bragg emphasized that the charges filed against Trump reflect the serious importance of ensuring business is conducted in a lawful manner.
“True and accurate business records are important everywhere to be sure,” Bragg said. “They are all the more important in Manhattan, the financial center of the world.”
The Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, is now holding a press conference to discuss the 34 charges filed against Donald Trump.
Bragg confirmed that Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records “with intent to defraud and intent to conceal another crime”.
“We cannot and will not normalize serious criminal conduct,” Bragg said.
The Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, will soon hold a press conference to discuss the 34 charges against Donald Trump in the hush money case.
As reporters prepared for Bragg to arrive, photographers took photos of two posters set up next to the podium, which outlined the charges that Trump has pleaded not guilty to.
One poster was labeled, “Catch and kill scheme to influence the 2016 election.”
At the arraignment, Donald Trump’s legal team suggested that it may be more realistic to begin the trial in spring 2024, according to the Guardian’s Hugo Lowell, who is in New York:
The Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, has proposed a trial start date of January 2024, weeks before voting begins in the Republican presidential primary.
The judge presiding over the case, Juan Merchan, will likely provide some clarity on the schedule at the next in-person hearing in December. At that point, Merchan will also likely rule on the expected motion to dismiss from Trump’s legal team.
According to multiple reports, the next in-person hearing in Donald Trump’s hush money case will be held in December, and a trial would not start until January 2024 at the earliest.
That schedule means Trump may be asked to appear in court just as voting begins in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, as the 2024 Iowa caucuses are scheduled to take place on 5 February.
As of now, Trump remains the frontrunner to win the Republican nomination.
The Manhattan district attorney office’s statement of facts regarding the indictment alleges that the parent company of the National Enquirer, American Media Inc, paid off a woman who claimed to have had a sexual relationship with Donald Trump.
“AMI ultimately paid $150,000 to Woman 1 in exchange for her agreement not to speak out about the alleged sexual relationship, as well as for two magazine cover features of Woman 1 and a series of articles that would be published under her byline,” the statement of facts says. “AMI falsely characterized this payment in AMI’s books and records, including in its general ledger.”
That woman is believed to be Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model who says she had an extramarital affair with Trump. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that the grand jury was hearing evidence about the financial transaction with McDougal, as well as the hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels.
According to the statement of facts from the Manhattan district attorney’s office, the parent company of the National Enquirer, American Media, Inc, at one point bought a story about Donald Trump fathering a child out of wedlock.
“[I]n or about October or November 2015, the AMI CEO learned that a former Trump Tower doorman (the ‘Doorman’) was trying to sell information regarding a child that the Defendant had allegedly fathered out of wedlock,” the statement of facts reads.
“At the AMI CEO’s 4 direction, AMI negotiated and signed an agreement to pay the Doorman $30,000 to acquire exclusive rights to the story. AMI falsely characterized this payment in AMI’s books and records, including in its general ledger. AMI purchased the information from the Doorman without fully investigating his claims, but the AMI CEO directed that the deal take place because of his agreement with the Defendant and Lawyer A.”
In its statement of facts regarding the indictment, the Manhattan district attorney’s office accuses Trump of having “repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal criminal conduct that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election”.
“From August 2015 to December 2017, the Defendant 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,” the statement of facts reads.
“In order to execute the unlawful scheme, the participants violated election laws and made and caused false entries in the business records of various entities in New York.”
The full indictment outlining the charges against Donald Trump has been unsealed, and it can be read here.
The indictment shows that the former president is facing 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, which is a class E felony in the state of New York.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, is just about to kick off his press conference to discuss today’s arraignment. Stay tuned.
Donald Trump has just left the Manhattan criminal court, about two hours after arriving there to be arrested and arraigned over charges linked to a 2016 hush-money scheme.
The former president once again declined to speak to reporters as he left the courthouse, ignoring shouted questions about how he pleaded in the case. Multiple outlets have reported that Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.
The Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, will soon hold a press conference to discuss the arraignment. Stay tuned.
New York law classifies falsifying business records in the first degree as a class E felony, which is the lowest level of felony charges in the state.
Now that Trump has been arraigned, the indictment approved by a New York grand jury last week can be publicly unsealed, offering more details on the exact charges the former president is facing. Stay tuned.
Source: US Politics - theguardian.com
