Criminal Prosecution of Donald Trump in New York

The People of the State of New York v. Donald J. Trump was a criminal case against Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States. Trump was charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records with the intent to commit or conceal another crime, relating to payments made to pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels to ensure her silence about an alleged sexual encounter between them.[a] The Manhattan District Attorney (DA) accused Trump of falsifying these business records with the intent to violate federal campaign finance limits, unlawfully influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and commit tax fraud... Rather than paying Stormy Daniels, the National Enquirer editor-in-chief Dylan Howard negotiated a $130,000 non-disclosure agreement between Daniels and Michael Cohen. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosecution_of_Donald_Trump_in_New_York

The indictment charged Trump with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, in violation of New York Penal Law §175.10... The payments were listed in the business records as a legal expense payable to Michael Cohen, whereas the indictment alleges that they were actually to reimburse Cohen for the earlier, allegedly illicit, payment to Daniels... Falsifying business records in the first degree is a felony under New York state law that requires that the "intent to defraud includes an intent to commit another crime or to aid or conceal the commission thereof". This is in contrast to falsifying business records in the second degree, which is a misdemeanor that does not have that requirement.[92][93][94] The charges neither include, nor even identify, the additional crimes, constituting a relatively unusual strategy for the DA.

In later filings, Bragg listed (but still did not charge) three general types of crime that Trump allegedly intended to commit: violation of federal campaign finance limits, violation of state election laws by unlawfully influencing the 2016 election, and violation of state tax laws regarding the reimbursement.

Trump was convicted on all counts on May 30, 2024, becoming the first U.S. president to be convicted of a felony. Following a series of delays and Trump's 2024 presidential election victory, he was sentenced to an unconditional discharge on January 10, 2025. He is expected to appeal his conviction.

Jun'2024: Debunking 12 Myths About Trump’s Conviction.

Because of various legal process shenanigans, sentencing was delayed until after the Nov'2024 election, which Trump won. So the judge ended giving an unconditional discharge sentence.