The Charges in New York Against Donald Trump

[abc3643]

Beginning text of New York State indictment of ex-President Donald J. Trump.

Ex-president Donald Trump was arraigned yesterday (T 04 APR 2023) in Manhattan in the "Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York". (In the State of New York, Manhattan is "New York County" and, originally, New York City was just Manhattan.)

Trump is charged with this 34 times (this is the text of the first count):

THE GRAND JURY OF THE COUNTY OF NEW YORK, by this indictment, accuses
the defendant of the crime of FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST
DEGREE, in violation of Penal Law §175.10

For the record, this is the exact law that Trump is being accused of violating 34 times:

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEN/175.10

SECTION 175.10
Falsifying business records in the first degree
Penal (PEN) CHAPTER 40, PART 3, TITLE K, ARTICLE 175
§ 175.10 Falsifying business records in the first degree.

A person is guilty of falsifying business records in the first degree
when he commits the crime of falsifying business records in the second
degree, and when his intent to defraud includes an intent to commit
another crime or to aid or conceal the commission thereof.

Falsifying business records in the first degree is a class E felony.

====================

The New York Times broke down the indictment:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/03/16/nyregion/trump-indictment-annotated.html

The 34 Charges Against Donald J. Trump

Mr. Trump is accused of disguising reimbursements to Michael Cohen as legal fees to hide a hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels.

11 counts
Related to invoices from Cohen
Prosecutors say Mr. Cohen submitted phony invoices for legal fees.

11 counts
Related to checks
Checks were written by Mr. Trump or using his funds to reimburse Mr. Cohen.

12 counts
Related to ledger entries
Accounting records made for the reimbursements in Mr. Trump’s books.

====================

Some things to note:

FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST DEGREE is what is known as an E-Class felony in New York State. It is the lowest level felony there is there. The sentence for a conviction is 1 to 4 years in prison.

However, if Donald Trump is convicted of any of these, I suspect that his sentences for those convictions would be served concurrently meaning they are all served at that same time. (Sentences which "run consecutively" mean that once one sentence is over, the next one begins.)

Given Trump's age, I would not expect him to serve the full 4-years and maybe as little as 1 year. However, if he has multiple convictions, I can see the judge issuing a sentence of 4 years along with probation. Given this is an E-class felony, even if there are 34 counts and possible convictions, a harsh sentence of, say, 20 years, might be considered a violation of the 8th Amendment:

Amendment VIII
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

====================

The New York Times provided both a PDF copy of his indictment and an annotated version.

This is the PDF of the indictment:

https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/read-trump-indictment/7db5e99723374b48/full.pdf

If you can't see it because it is behind a paywall, it is almost certainly to be on other news sources' websites.

Here is the annotated version which is very good to read for understanding the important points in the indictment:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/03/16/nyregion/trump-indictment-annotated.html

In case you can't see it because it's behind a paywall, I am "gifting" it so it is free to read for about a week or so.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/03/16/nyregion/trump-indictment-annotated.html?unlocked_article_code=uPtvvcAnirnUGFc-3AS4l_HrdxbBEWGlKmXhHt8FuWiQ5oysu5_xKL3DjdplOQNcCP8JQbpYN8lqrovr4nBDIg6EA4El-89KWnNF4WvJiqYo8LgGUpmFwG5MY6v6UbGPTmTm1lTi5CzyyimifY75EnsmragV5iv-B550oBnd1Bbx2fo1yYubQf4MWPSrl3RuRmtNOjkqAfxNMxrrFUvM_sAlFZdPPurFYWiorQMaDwE022dTjHeiccVRWc0D4GRnCth-5N9PP8g1AYSNuGxphvwH7Rf7iqMKTAJMjHaEs_3MKGjA24kwKpKJivwNmOIBPeDhNqKGBMxBzwovg7AitNp4FWJ4KFB1MZR7HT0gMP1qZzcCug&smid=url-share

====================

Whatever your feelings about ex-President Trump, it's important to let the justice system do its job and assume he is "innocent until proven guilty".

However, even though you may think this is a "witch hunt" and politically motivated, I want you to realize some things:

FIRST...

Manhattan District Attorney (DA) Alvin Bragg took over this case from former DA Cyrus Vance Jr. (His father, the late Cyrus Vance was the Secretary of State under President Carter.) Shortly after the transition from Vance to Bragg in January 2022, Bragg actually suspended looking into Trump and this caused a furor.

This article is from February 2022 shortly after Bragg took over...
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/23/nyregion/trump-ny-fraud-investigation.html

Prosecutors Leading N.Y. Trump Inquiry Resign, Clouding Case’s Future
The resignations came after the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, was said to have expressed doubts about the case.

So, this implies 2 things about the prosecution of Trump in this case:

1. This indictment is not politically motivated. If it was, he would not have expressed doubts about the case.

2. This is not malicious prosecution. Part of malicious prosecution involves pursuing prosecution in a case without the evidence to warrant that prosecution. Instead, what happened is that the investigation continued and, once the DA's Office determined that there was sufficient evidence to conclude a crime occurred, the indictment process began.

SECOND...

Keep in mind that Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg didn't indict ex-President Donald J. Trump.

A district attorney cannot indict. In the United States, a grand jury must be convened to indict. In New York, a grand jury consists of 25 ordinary citizens and, if the majority vote to indict, then the defendant is indicted. I believe the grand jury must vote on all counts individually.

But, the bottom line is that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg did not indict ex-President Trump. Ordinary citizens, which likely included several who voted for him in 2016 and/or 2020, indicted him.

That's why this case is:

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
COUNTY OF NEW YORK

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK

-against

DONALD J. TRUMP,
Defendant.

====================

As usual, I do not accept comments from Anonymous.
Have the balls to put your name behind your words.

[AviatorTom]

The prosecution is going to have a difficult time proving its case. They have to prove three things:

1. That he lied about the payments to his lawyer Cohen

2. That he committed a crime by paying hush money to two women; the election law argument has never been tried successfully

3. That he lied because of the hush money

It's going to be an interesting trial, if it ever makes it there. From what I hear, a trial would be maybe by the end of the year. I'm sure Trump's legal team will argue (possibly successful) for dismissal. In any case, they will argue that it takes a long time to properly prepare a defense of 34 charges.

[abc3643]

I agree. Something of a stretch regarding First Degree.
Second Degree is a misdemeanor, but that could still involve prison time - upto 364 days for one count.
I think Second Degree is easy to prove. The question is whether the jury will be allowed to convict on Second Degree and not First Degree.

[abc3643]

For the record:

www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEN/175.05

SECTION 175.05
Falsifying business records in the second degree
Penal (PEN) CHAPTER 40, PART 3, TITLE K, ARTICLE 175
§ 175.05 Falsifying business records in the second degree.

A person is guilty of falsifying business records in the second degree
when, with intent to defraud, he:

1. Makes or causes a false entry in the business records of an
enterprise; or

2. Alters, erases, obliterates, deletes, removes or destroys a true
entry in the business records of an enterprise; or

3. Omits to make a true entry in the business records of an enterprise
in violation of a duty to do so which he knows to be imposed upon him by
law or by the nature of his position; or

4. Prevents the making of a true entry or causes the omission thereof
in the business records of an enterprise.

Falsifying business records in the second degree is a class A
misdemeanor.

[CassandraSpender]

They won't have that much trouble... its a paper case, there are recordings of those conversations (crime-fraud exception eliminates attorney client privilege) and his signature is on the documents. And if his lawyers signed instead of him, that's the same thing.

[BaileyWillow]

This was n'ever meant to go to trial.

[abc3643]

@CassandraSpender

They won't have a problem proving SECOND DEGREE Falsifying of Business Records which is a Class A Misdemeanor, not a felony. A Class A Misdemeanor in NY can include upto 364 days in prison.

Proving FIRST DEGREE will be more difficult because they need to show that the falsification of business records goes toward committing another crime; in this case violating "electoral laws".
I have not completely read the indictment, but there's an implication of that in the Statements of Fact. However, I didn't see any specific violation mentioned and you would have thought that Trump would have been charged with that too.

So, I am not sure proving First Degree is going to be so simple. If the evidence does clearly point to paying Stormy off to avoid adversely affecting the 2016 election, then, yes, First Degree should be easier to prove.

[AviatorTom]

@abc3643 I agree 2nd degree would be easier to prove, but I have a feeling it may never go to trial.

[abc3643]

I've been having that hunch too.

[AviatorTom]

@abc3643 Usually white color crime results in someone being damaged, typically financially, and that's why DAs bring cases against white collar criminals. In this case, it would be hard to prove that anyone was damaged, and that may be one of the many arguments Trump's legal team uses to get the case dismissed.

[abc3643]

If I was the prosecution, I would counter that MILLIONS were hurt by this because this would have affected how they would have voted (alternatively) in 2016.

[AviatorTom]

@abc3643 The prosecution would have to somehow prove (with evidence) that enough people in the states that Trump won would have voted differently, to change the outcome of the Electoral College. I don't know how they could do that, considering that New York can't do anything about George Santos lying and getting elected anyway.

[AviatorTom]

One argument that I haven't heard anyone mention yet. All of Trump's companies are registered in the State of Delaware. Does New York State have legal jurisdiction over how a Delaware company's records are kept?

[CassandraSpender]

If the actions are taken in the State of New York and are criminal and not civil... I was born in Texas and live in Texas, if I go to Oklahoma and break an Oklahoma state law, I will be prosecuted in Oklahoma state court... "corporations are people", so if a corporation commits a crime in a state besides where it is based, it is subject to those laws, just like any other person.

[abc3643]

No, they don't.

The jurisdiction for this case is New York, not the United States.

Now, of course, if those voters voted differently (Hillary instead of Trump), it wouldn't have made a difference because Hillary won New York in 2016. What the prosecution needs to show is that a plausible case can be made that voters who voted for Trump did so under fraudulent conditions.

Now, if I was Trump's team, I'd counter with "So what? People are bombarded with false advertising all the time during election season. The influence of President Trump's infidelity would only be part of the overall experiences to influence the voters. Few, if any voters, are single-issue voters regarding a candidate's infidelity. Furthermore, the bottom line would not have made a difference; if ALL New York voters who voted for candidate Trump in 2016 would, once they learned of his infidelity, not have voted for him, it would not have made a difference since the Presidential election is based on electoral votes and not popular votes and Hillary Clinton won New York in 2016."

Of course, nationally, the situation might have been different, but that's outside of the jurisdiction of New York and Federal law would have to have been violated for that to have mattered.

Overall, this is much ado about nothing.

The only thing that I do think is important though is that a conviction of some type might dissuade the Trump Organization from being so corrupt. It is arguably the greatest criminal organization in the USA outside of the Mafia. I mean, they've been on the radar of the justice system for 50 years and got convicted in 2022.

[Friendlybro79]

Bravo for being so thorough and 100% factual. Everything you said is real. If you say anything that was said above is not real or continue to push the stuff you're being fed on right wing media... well then you're completely ignorant unfortunately.

[abc3643]

Thank you!

[Friendlybro79]

You're welcome. It's so hard to get through to people that don't understand how things work and her think they know everything

[Emii_Urashima]

We have been talking about this in one of my classes. The political events in the USA are watched closely by many democracies around the world and everyone is very worried. Democracy is on a rapid decline in the USA right now and it looks like this is the final generation that will know a free society. One political party, the democrat party, has somehow manged to take control of most of the media in the US. That is shocking enough, but it gets much worse. They have almost complete control of the schools, universities, and colleges. The staff and teachers in American schools are all passionately alligned with the extreme radical left wing, and this happened with a purpose... to radicalize an entire generation. Recently, Japanese reporters visited many college campuses and started asking questions to the students. Most all of the students questioned have a strong hatred of the constitution and the national flag! They hate Capitalism and most agree that Socialism or Communism would be better! This is very shocking! When this democrat party gets full control, Generation Z will cheer as elections are suspended and your bill of rights is publically burned. Remember, Hitler used this exact plan to control the German people. First, he took over the media, then he took over the schools. The same road map leads to the same destination. In one of my classes, we explored these parallels. When Hitler was still chancellor and did not yet have full power, he staged a false attack on the capital building, the Reichstag. It was set on fire and afterwards, Hitler blamed the attack on an opposing political party, the communists. Sound familiar? It should.

Concerning Mr. Trump, I do not know about American law, but legal experts from BOTH parties are saying that the prosecutor does not have much of a case. Even legal experts on CNN, which is unquestionably Democrat, have admitted such. CNN could not even find experts to claim there was a strong case against Trump. My opinion of the orange man is neutral, but I think the partisan media makes him seem far worse than he really is.

[abc3643]

I don't know what kind of schools they have in Japan, but this:

"One political party, the democrat party, has somehow manged to take control of most of the media in the US."

is false.

No political party has "control" of the media.

Different media outlets may side with one party more than the other, but that's they way it is in life all over the world.

Does it seem like more media leans "left" meaning more in line with what Democrats espouse?
Yeah, I can believe that.
And that's simple to understand.
Most media have gotten smarter about the nature of reality and, unfortunately for many extreme conservative media...

>>>> "Reality has a left-leaning bias".

This is why most scientists and scientific professionals are more liberal than conservative.
The thing is with science and many STEM professions: Once you've learned how to think, you don't need to be told what to think and those who know how to think - like scientists and most professionals. They understand intuitively this quote:

"You are entitled to your opinion but you are not entitled to your own facts."

And, thus, they have a tendency to be more liberal than conservative thus echoing:

>>>> "Reality has a left-leaning bias".

[Friendlybro79]

@abc3643 we just became best friends.

[Adaeva]

If elected, Trump can pardon himself and order the Marines to release him. Whether that is legal is beside the point. It will be tied up in the courts for 10 years and by then it is a fact accomplishes. And, should any judge attempt to disagree, Trump using the National Defense Authorization Act, Trump can arrest and hold him forever without charges or a hearing. That law was passed by 97% of congress and ruled lawful by a federal appeals court. Lincoln proved the president can close media and even arrest a Supreme Court judge. And, that was long before the added power given the president by the the National Defense Authorization Act.

[abc3643]

That's false.
1. Presidents can't pardon themselves; that's pretty well established under law.
2. Presidents can only pardon Federal crimes, not state crimes. As a convict of the State of New York, the only person who could pardon him is the Governor of New York State.
3. He couldn't be President because, if he was in prison, he'd be unable to fulfill the duties of the President so, because of the 25th Amendment, Section 4, the VP and Cabinet would report that he could not fulfill his duties and thus the VP becomes acting President.
Keep in mind something about that; on Inauguration Day if Trump were to be President but in prison, the existing Cabinet at that moment in time is STILL the Cabinet of the previous administration. So, realistically, if Trump was behind bars on 20 JAN 2025, it would be Biden's Cabinet stating Trump could not perform. The newly sworn in GOP VP likely would too. So, until Trump would be released from prison, he could not be President. This is a real oddball situation though and the Supreme Court might have to get involved... especially if Congress is divided like it is now.

[Adaeva]

Alan Dershowitz, the one-time impeachment lawyer for Donald Trump, said on Sunday that the former president will be able to get reelected in 2024 and run the country "from prison" if he is convicted.

After many years, self pardoning or pardoning state crimes may rejected by the courts. However, likely Trump would just do it knowing it was take years to be rejected by the Supreme Court. And, as president, he does have the power to order the Marines to free him and to hold forever without charges or access to lawyer anyone that dared to protest too much. FDR proved a president can imprison 130,000 without a trial and as President Lincoln proved the president could close media.

If elected, Trump will have a Republican congress who will follow the example of Democrats and ignore the law to accomplish their agendas.

[abc3643]

Alan Dershowitz says a lot of things. He's become the Fox News of lawyers.

Trump won't be able to do that. Here's why: Under Amendment 25 Section 4, the Vice President and the Cabinet (which will be Biden holdovers) on January 20th will communicate that the "President" (Trump) cannot perform his duties. And he can't. Presidents need to sign legislation, give State of the Union addresses, communicate with foreign leaders and members of Congress, etc. From prison, you can't effectively do that. For instance, how can the President, in prison, have "executive privilege" when all his communications are monitored by the New York Penal System? How can the President, in prison, meet with people to sign legislation if he is denied visitors? etc.
Dershowitz is talking in mathematical abstractions, but leading the country is real business... business that needs freely conducted but which can't be when you are a prisoner. Those are the realities of the situation.

So, Section 4 of the 25th Amendment would kick in and Trump would not be President until he was freed.

So, he won't be President behind bars. He couldn't even take the oath of office which is required before he can be President.

And, no, we won't have a GOP Congress. The election of 2022 illustrated the problems he will have.
The real world is speaking: You piss off enough women and they act... just like they did 100 years ago and got the vote.

[Adaeva]

You describe a perfect world where everyone knows and follows the rules that you select. However. the USA never has and never will a perfect country. Personally, I don't like Trump any more than I like Biden. In my opinion, neither are competent enough to qualified to serve as president and I hope a much more qualified candidate, whether Democrat, Republican, or independent is elected. However, unlike you, I do not expect that what I hope will happen is what will happen.

[Cice238]

Sets a new precedent for other politicians. No ones above the law. Imagine how it would've looked via the optics of everything if he fled the country aboard his jet. Hopefully no one attempts that while claiming citizenship of another country.

I'm just going to make a guess, but maybe Cohen was the one who Stormy Daniels really had a relationship with, and signed a NDA.

34 counts is suspicious, I don't believe all the bullshit media hype. I can believe a few counts. Its attacking a political opponent prior to an election. If the counts are dropped, or pursued it won't stop congress from investigating the Clintons, Obamas, Bushs, etc... Plus there's other Special Prosecutors besides John Durham who have been working at building cases against them as well as others. The case against him is very loose.

[goaded]

Somebody's bound to come along and say something like "all the counts are the same", but that's the way it has to be, in law. If the prosecution said "Trump falsified 34 business documents", Trump's lawyers would have to complain that they couldn't argue against each one individually. Maybe one check was really for "legal services".

[goaded]

Oh, and the New York State statute of limitations only runs while the defendant is living in the state. If they live somewhere else like, say, DC or Florida, the clock is paused until they come back again.

[abc3643]

Thanks.

Meanwhile, I forgot to add this to the MyTake.

This is New York's law for felony sentencing:

SECTION 70.00
Sentence of imprisonment for felony
Penal (PEN) CHAPTER 40, PART 2, TITLE E, ARTICLE 70

www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEN/70.00

[Dargil]

Misdemeanors all. Brag is unsuccessfully trying to contort it into a felony. Because it's NYC, he could get a conviction because of biased, ignorant juries. But it will be shot down in appeal. Trump will get even more donations and likely will win in 24. RFK Jr. could give him a run, but if he does, the GOP may run DeSantis or Ramaswamy instead.

[LiamJHayden]

Laughable. Here's a simple analysis of why:

https://amgreatness.com/2023/04/04/seven-things-you-dont-know-about-the-stormy-daniels-hush-money-case/

[abc3643]

It wasn't laughable to at least 13 people on the Grand Jury.

I wouldn't be surprised if Trump is acquitted on most if not all of these charges, but that fact that the Manhattan DA's Office did considerable work, there may be additional charges brought by Federal investigators. As to what charges they might press, I don't know.

Meanwhile, you need to find a better source...
American Greatness is not a good source.
=======
https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/american-greatness/
Overall, we rate American Greatness Right biased based on story selection that favors the right and Mixed for factual reporting due to the use of poor sources and the promotion of misinformation.

Bias Rating: RIGHT
Factual Reporting: MIXED
MBFC Credibility Rating: MEDIUM CREDIBILITY

[LiamJHayden]

So you are worried about the source and not the content? Typical. If someone supplies info I check it for its own accuracy. Anyway, the FEC said it was not even a reporting violation, less alone a crime.

[abc3643]

The content is shit is the source is shit.

The Federal Election Commission has its laws, but you need to understand the concept of jurisdiction.

The jurisdiction in this current case is "The United States" (the legal name for the Federal Government) but "The State of New York". Trump has not formally __yet__ been accused of violating NY campaign laws, but he was indicted on 1st degree Falsifying Business Records because, allegedly, his actions went towards his (attempted at least) violation of NY election laws. Those laws were not explicitly spelled out in the indictment. That's disheartening, but understandable since Trump wasn't indicted on those yet. If they were going to indict him on that, it would have been better to do all those crimes on one indictment. I guess the investigation / process is not at the point of indictment for that yet.

[abc3643]

* is NOT "The United States"

[LiamJHayden]

Also, the requirement for a tolling if the five-year SOL is "continuously absent" and he was not. It is a joke.

[WanderingLoveWizard]

Bet this goes nowhere like the last 50 times they tried to put him in jail.
Why? Because it's a fucking witch hunt and they have nothing

[WanderingLoveWizard]

Quit wasting your time and energy on this garbage and letting him live rent free in your mind, you fucking moron.
I stand behind those words

[abc3643]

It's not a witch hunt, they do have something, but he may not be guilty of the crimes he is charged with. He's clearly guilty of Falsifying business records in the 2nd degree.

[UCrayCray]

“…like the last 50 times they tried to put him in jail.”
There were 50 other criminal court proceedings against Trump?
Do tell

[legalboxers]

he got nailed, plain an fucking simple. He got caught on a phone call falsifying votes. He got nailed on tape. Its his voice. no altered deep fucking fake whatever which Q Anon, TrumpAid KoolAid you drink.

[strateguy632]

stop being naive... they have been trying to pin stuff on him since he entered politics.

[humanearth]

Its all a sham, it's just a show to keep people entertained.

Just like Clinton's e-mails, Benghazi, Hunter Biden laptop and so much more.

[PickleTree]

trump is stsrting sa war with russian and china.

[BaileyWillow]

He should be treated the same way Hillary was treated. Just a small fine.

[robocop666]

Stormy Daniels sued him 3 times and lost each time. They have been investigating him over and over and he keeps winning. Why is this different?

It's an excellent article but too much for me to digest.