Updated: April 19, 2024
The New York criminal case against former President Donald Trump started on April 15, 2024. It's the first of his four criminal cases to go to trial.
In this article, we'll review questions regarding the criminal justice process in Trump's New York case regarding alleged hush-money payments made to several individuals during his first presidential campaign and falsified business records relating to those payments.
People of New York v. Donald J. Trump
In the "hush-money" case, Trump has been charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records. These charges might sound minor, but if convicted, Trump faces the possibility of time behind bars.
It's a crime in New York to make false statements in the business records of any "enterprise" (a company or other organization), if the purpose of the lie is to defraud. It can be a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the circumstances, though Trump is charged with all felonies. Here, prosecutors allege Trump and others falsely recorded hush-money payments as "legal fees" to cover up election law crimes.
To prove someone guilty of any crime, the prosecutor has to prove each element of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Someone is guilty of falsifying business records in New York when they do any of the following with the intent to defraud:
In other words, telling a lie or covering up the truth in business records is a crime if there's an intent to deceive behind it.
(N.Y. Penal Law § 175.05 (2023).)
When the prosecutor proves the elements listed above, the person is guilty of falsifying business records in the second degree—a Class A misdemeanor.
But the crime becomes a felony if the prosecutor can prove one more element—that the person made the false statements (or omissions) with the intent to commit, conceal, or aid another crime. In that situation, the person is guilty of falsifying business records in the first degree, which is a Class E felony with a possible penalty of one to four years in prison.
(N.Y. Penal Law § 175.10 (2023).)
It's tough to say. According to the DA, the charges are based on several acts during Trump's first presidential campaign involving payments to people who had negative information about Trump. The DA's theory is that Trump, his lawyer Michael Cohen, and others at Trump's company (American Media Incorporated or AMI) had a systematic plan to pay off those people so that voters wouldn't learn of the information.
The DA said the acts alleged in the indictment violated New York election law, which makes it illegal to conspire to promote a campaign by unlawful means. Also, the amount of the payment Michael Cohen made to one of the people (at Trump's direction) was over the federal limits on campaign contributions.
The DA argued that AMI falsified records and that Trump covered up the hush-money payment to Daniels by classifying it as "legal fees" that he paid to Michael Cohen. Trump allegedly signed several checks that misclassified the payments to Cohen. The DA also said that, when Cohen was reimbursed for the payment he made to Daniels, Trump and others illegally planned to have the reimbursement misclassified as Cohen's "income" on New York tax documents. These acts were falsification of business records made with the intent to cover up or commit election law crimes, and violated New York laws on business recordkeeping, according to the DA.
If Trump is convicted, there's at least a chance he could spend some time behind bars.
The punishment for a Class E felony is one to four years in prison. Trump is charged with 34 counts, and if he's convicted of more than one, the judge gets to decide whether to give him consecutive rather than concurrent sentences (though the judge might have to impose concurrent sentences on some charges, depending on what Trump's convicted of and what the evidence is). Consecutive sentences are served one after another and can significantly lengthen the amount of time someone spends behind bars. (Concurrent sentences are served at the same time.)
Many factors go into a judge's sentencing decision, such as the circumstances of the offense and whether the defendant has any prior convictions. At this stage, we can't know what's in store for Trump and will have to wait and see as the case unfolds.
(N.Y. Penal Law §§ 70.00, 70.25 (2023).)
The jury selection process was the first step in the New York hush-money trial against Trump. The goal of jury selection in any criminal trial is to find fair and impartial jurors. Attorneys for the state and Trump questioned potential jurors on their political views, news consumption, and feelings about the case. It took less than a week to select a jury of 12. After jury selection, it's expected the trial will last six to eight weeks.