He's being charged with falsifying business records which is a misdemeanor in New York. However, it becomes a felony if you use it to cover up another crime.
Here's key pieces from the prosecutor's opening remarks
The prosecution us accusing Trump of falsifying business records as part of a scheme to squelch negative stories about him during his 2016 presidential campaign.
Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo said the heart of the case is a scheme to “corrupt” the 2016 election by silencing people who were about to come forward with embarrassing stories Trump feared would hurt his campaign.
The prosecutors say that the folks involved in this "scheme" were Donald Trump, Michael Cohen, David Pecker, publisher of the National Enquirer and Alan Weisselberg who was the CFO of the Trump Organization. They would pay the folks off and buy the rights to their story.
Michael Cohen already pled guilty to making an illegal campaign contribution in 2018 and went jail. In 2018, David Pecker cut a deal and signed a no prosecution agreement in exchange for his testimony.
The prosecutors say Trump used company money to pay back Michael Cohen after he paid Stormy Daniels
The business records charges stem from things like invoices and checks that were deemed legal expenses in Trump Organization records when prosecutors say they were really reimbursements to former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen for a $130,000 hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels.
He's being charged with falsifying business records which is a misdemeanor in New York. However, it becomes a felony if you use it to cover up another crime.
Here's key pieces from the prosecutor's opening remarks
The prosecution us accusing Trump of falsifying business records as part of a scheme to squelch negative stories about him during his 2016 presidential campaign.
Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo said the heart of the case is a scheme to “corrupt” the 2016 election by silencing people who were about to come forward with embarrassing stories Trump feared would hurt his campaign.
The prosecutors say that the folks involved in this "scheme" were Donald Trump, Michael Cohen, David Pecker, publisher of the National Enquirer and Alan Weisselberg who was the CFO of the Trump Organization. They would pay the folks off and buy the rights to their story.
Michael Cohen already pled guilty to making an illegal campaign contribution in 2018 and went jail. In 2018, David Pecker cut a deal and signed a no prosecution agreement in exchange for his testimony.
The prosecutors say Trump used company money to pay back Michael Cohen after he paid Stormy Daniels
The business records charges stem from things like invoices and checks that were deemed legal expenses in Trump Organization records when prosecutors say they were really reimbursements to former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen for a $130,000 hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels. /U/bedminster