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Post by Webster on Apr 4, 2023 12:22:41 GMT -5
(The Guardian) From hush money news to criminal court: brief timeline Here is a reminder, courtesy of Reuters, of the timeline of how we got to today: January 2018 – The Wall Street Journal reports that Trump arranged a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in October 2016 to prevent her from discussing a sexual encounter she said she had with Trump in 2006. Trump has consistently denied having an affair with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford. February 2018 – Michael Cohen, a former private lawyer and fixer for Trump, says he paid Daniels using his own money and was not directed by Trump’s company or campaign to make the payment. He said Trump never reimbursed him for the payment. Cohen would later contradict both statements under oath, stating Trump did in fact direct him to make the payment and reimbursed him. April 2018 – Trump, when asked by reporters if he knew about the payment to Daniels, responded, “No.” Asked why Cohen made the payment, Trump said, “You’ll have to ask Michael Cohen.” May 2018 – In an ethics disclosure, Trump acknowledges reimbursing Cohen for the $130,000 paid for Daniels. August 2018 – Cohen pleads guilty to criminal charges in Manhattan federal court, including campaign finance violations over the hush money payments. He testified that Trump directed him to make the payments “for the principal purpose of influencing the election”. August 2019 – Cyrus Vance, the Manhattan district attorney at the time, issues a subpoena to the Trump Organization for records of hush money payments. July 2021 – Vance’s office indicts the Trump Organization and its top financial executive on tax fraud charges. Trump himself is not charged with a crime, and the indictment contains no references to hush money payments. December 2022 – The Trump Organization is found guilty of tax fraud after a trial in New York state court in Manhattan. January 2023 – Having replaced Vance as district attorney, Alvin Bragg’s office begins presenting evidence about Trump’s alleged role in the 2016 hush money payments to a grand jury. March 2023 – Manhattan prosecutors invite Trump to testify before the grand jury, which legal experts say is a sign an indictment could come soon. Cohen testifies before the grand jury. 18 March 2023 – Trump says on his social media platform Truth Social that he expects to be arrested on 21 March and calls on his supporters to protest. A spokesperson for Trump said the former president had not been notified of any arrest. 23 March 2023 – Bragg’s office says Trump created a false expectation that he would be arrested, and tells Republican congressmen seeking communications, documents and testimony about the probe that they were interfering with an ongoing investigation. 24 March 2023 – Trump warns of potential “death and destruction” if he is charged with a crime. 30 March 2023 – Media reports say Trump is indicted.
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Post by Webster on Apr 4, 2023 12:29:13 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Trump lawyer says former president won't consider plea dealDonald Trump’s lawyer Joe Tacopina has been on television and said the former president wouldn’t plead guilty to lesser charges, even if it could resolve the case. Associated Press report he said he didn’t believe the case would ever make it to a jury, but he conceded: “Really, there’s a lot of mystery here because we’re doing something that’s never been done before.” “I think there will be a typical processing, which does not take long, 20-30 minutes. There won’t be handcuffs,” Tacopina told ABC’s Good Morning America. “But, yeah, he’ll be processed the way anyone else would be – to a degree.”
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Post by Webster on Apr 4, 2023 12:29:56 GMT -5
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Post by Webster on Apr 4, 2023 12:30:56 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Progressive congressman Jamaal Bowman of New York was spotted outside the courthouse where Donald Trump will be arraigned this afternoon. Bowman told Semafor that he felt compelled to make an appearance because he wanted to push back against the rhetoric he’s heard from one of his House colleagues, far-right congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia. “She should not be here,” Bowman told Semafor’s Kadia Goba. “She should not be pushing rhetoric that is harmful and dangerous.”
It remains unclear whether Donald Trump will get his mug shot taken when he is processed by New York authorities today, but one new report suggests he will not. Yahoo News’ Michael Isikoff reported yesterday that Trump has been charged with 34 felony counts for falsification of business records, and noted that the Manhattan district attorney’s office had decided against getting a mug shot of the former president: [One] source said, Trump will not be put in handcuffs, placed in a jail cell or subjected to a mug shot – typical procedures even for white-collar defendants until a judge has weighed in on pretrial conditions. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office, which has been consulting with the Secret Service and New York City court officials, concluded there was no reason to subject the former president to handcuffs or a mug shot.The Guardian’s Hugo Lowell previously reported that Trump hoped to be handcuffed because he wanted to turn the arrest and arraignment into a “spectacle”.
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Post by Webster on Apr 4, 2023 12:31:33 GMT -5
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Post by Webster on Apr 4, 2023 12:32:04 GMT -5
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Post by Webster on Apr 4, 2023 12:34:26 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Trump leaves Trump Tower for arraignmentDonald Trump has left Trump Tower to make the short trip to the Manhattan courthouse where he will be arraigned at 2.15pm ET. Cameras captured the former president’s motorcade traveling the four miles between Trump Tower and 100 Centre St, where an entrance has already been cleared for his arrival. When he arrives, Trump will be formally arrested, fingerprinted and processed before appearing at his arraignment, where he is expected to plead not guilty to all charges. Trump arrives at Manhattan courthouse for arraignmentDonald Trump has arrived at the Manhattan courthouse where he will soon be arraigned on charges linked to a hush-money scheme during the 2016 election. Before the arraignment begins at 2.15pm ET, Trump will be formally arrested and processed by New York authorities. He is expected to be fingerprinted, but it is unclear whether he will have his mug shot taken. At the arraignment, Trump is expected to plead not guilty to all charges, and the judge presiding over the case, New York supreme court Justice Juan Merchan, will then likely allow the former president to return home to Florida.
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Post by Webster on Apr 4, 2023 13:21:23 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Donald Trump waved to the assembled crowd as he arrived at the Manhattan courthouse where he has been arrested and will soon be arraigned. Hundreds of journalists, security personnel and protesters have gathered outside the Manhattan criminal court to witness the unprecedented spectacle of a former US president surrendering himself to authorities.
Moments before starting his trip to the Manhattan criminal court, Donald Trump shared a rather obvious message with his followers on the social media platform Truth Social. “Heading to Lower Manhattan, the Courthouse. Seems so SURREAL – WOW, they are going to ARREST ME,” Trump said. “Can’t believe this is happening in America. MAGA!” Trump has already used his Truth Social account to repeatedly attack Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg, whose office oversaw the hush-money investigation. The former president will likely double down on those attacks tonight, when he delivers remarks at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida at 8.15pm ET.
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Post by Webster on Apr 4, 2023 13:22:35 GMT -5
(The Guardian) One of Donald Trump’s former White House aides also described the experience of watching him surrender to New York authorities as “surreal”. Alyssa Farah Griffin, Trump’s former White House director of strategic communications who has severely criticized the former president over his role in the deadly January 6 insurrection, said Trump is now “the most alone [he] has been in a long time”. “He’s not flanked by aides, lawyers, body men & so on,” Griffin said on Twitter. “He’s face to face with the American legal system that has caught up with him.”
Moments before Donald Trump’s arraignment is expected to begin, the Democratic Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, expressed confidence that the former president will receive a fair trial. “I believe that Donald Trump will have a fair trial that follows the facts and the law,” Schumer said. He added, “There’s no place in our justice system for any outside influence or intimidation in the legal process. As the trial proceeds, protest is an American right, but all protests must be peaceful.” Trump is currently under arrest at the Manhattan criminal court, where he is expected to soon plead not guilty to all the charges he faces. Schumer is one of two Democratic senators who represent the state of New York.
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Post by Webster on Apr 4, 2023 13:43:02 GMT -5
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Post by Webster on Apr 4, 2023 13:46:14 GMT -5
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Post by Webster on Apr 4, 2023 16:04:49 GMT -5
Donald Trump makes his way into the courtroom. Photograph: Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images Former President Donald Trump sits at the defense table with his defense team in a Manhattan court. Photograph: Seth Wenig/AP
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Post by Webster on Apr 4, 2023 16:09:04 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Trump pleads not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records – reportsDonald 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. Trump leaves courthouse without speaking to reportersDonald 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. Trump indictment released as Bragg holds press conferenceThe full indictment outlining the charges against Donald Trump has been unsealed, and it can be read below. 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. -Read more: www.manhattanda.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Donald-J.-Trump-Indictment.pdf
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Post by Webster on Apr 4, 2023 16:09:59 GMT -5
(The Guardian) 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.” -Read more: www.manhattanda.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Donald-J.-Trump-SOF.pdf
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. “ 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.”
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Post by Webster on Apr 4, 2023 16:10:51 GMT -5
(The Guardian) 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 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.
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