Trump trial: The 34 charges – and why they are so explosive

Forgery of business documents 34 times

It was already clear in advance that the indictment was about Trump’s hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels. In fact, all 34 points relate to the payments, which are not prohibited in themselves, but are suspected to have been wrongfully charged.

Each count accuses Trump (“the defendant”) of “first-degree forgery of business records.” This is what it looks like:

This is the first of 34 charges. The following 33 are written in a similar style, only the date and the books and organizations involved change. The fourth point says:

The differences may seem small, but they are important. Why? And what is all this jurisprudence supposed to say? A 13-page accompanying letter from prosecutors lays out the full story of how Trump’s money got to Daniels, who was involved, and why Trump allegedly broke the law.

«Lawyer A», «Woman 2»

No names are mentioned. Stormy Daniels is “Ms. 2”, Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen is “Attorney A”, and the CEO of the media company American Media Inc., which also plays a role in the negotiations between Cohen and Daniels, is simply “AMI CEO”.

The process is as follows: “CEO AMI” found out in October 2016 that “Mrs 2” would have had sexual contact with “suspect”. The “AMI” had been instructed in advance by the “suspect” to look for negative stories about him before the “suspect” presidential campaign.

So «AMI CEO» contacts «lawyer A». On October 10, he contacted “Attorney B”, Stormy Daniels’ representative. One negotiates; The result is: “Woman 2” should receive $ 130,000 for the rights to her statement. So for her silence.

To this end, “Attorney A”, i.e. Cohen, sets up a letterbox company to whose account he transfers $131,000 out of his own pocket. And from this account $130,000 goes to “Mrs. 2”. So far so good, nothing illegal has happened.

Since the hush money payment is part of the presidential campaign, it should be made public. Not possible for technical visual reasons, the story may not be made public. That’s why all the trouble with the letterbox company. But now the question arises of how the money from the “defendant” gets to “lawyer A”.

Monthly “Services”

“Attorney A” sends a monthly invoice of USD 35,000 to the office of “suspect”. However, it says nothing about a hush money payment, but about an “advance agreement” for “services rendered”. Such contracts are usually concluded with lawyers or freelancers and are a cross between permanent employment and an individual contract.

This suggests that “lawyer A” prepares the invoices for “normal” legal services. At the time the invoices were issued, there was never even an advance agreement.

The money is paid by check. The first of ten checks is still written by the Donald J. Trump Trust and signed by the “defendant’s” son, the next nine come directly from the “defendant.” They are recorded in the accounts under the code “51505”, legal fees. So far so good, where is Trump’s crime?

Prosecutor Bragg argues that Trump covered up the background of the payments to Cohen. Cohen himself was convicted in 2018 of failing to disclose payments made to Daniels as part of the campaign.

Since Trump returned the $130,000 he had paid out of his own pocket to Cohen with said checks, he has become an accomplice in the eyes of the prosecution. By demonstrating the payments as normal “lawyer’s fees,” Trump was supporting a crime.

(cpf)