16-page indictment against him Donald Trumpincludes 34 criminal charges since the former president USA allegedly falsified business documents. The charges in question are expected to lead to the first criminal prosecution of a former American president in the nation’s history.

Manhattan prosecutors say Trump covered up the payments by presenting them as “legal fees” and having a tabloid newspaper publisher cover up a story about a woman who claimed to have had sex with Trump.

In doing so, prosecutors allege, Trump violated New York’s record keeping laws and campaign finance laws.

Trump faces 34 felony charges, each of which can carry prison sentences of up to four years, although judges rarely hand down such sentences in such cases.

It is worth noting that the indictment is a revealing document, but contains a simple list of alleged crimes. However, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office also released a 14-page report detailing the case.

Here are the highlights of the historic indictment against Trump:

Misdemeanors or crimes?

The main “mystery” relates to exactly how Bragg intended to present the charges as criminal offences. The charge at the heart of the case – falsifying business records – can only be considered a misdemeanor, but can be upgraded to a felony if the defendant falsified the records to cover up another crime.

The most obvious argument in favor of the increase is Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen’s admission that he arranged for $130,000 to be paid to porn star Stormy Daniels.

Allegations of election law violations will almost certainly be at the center of pre-trial motions by Trump’s lawyers, who publicly argue that this state offense cannot also be considered a gross violation of federal law.

If defense lawyers prevail over these positions, this will not necessarily lead to the dismissal of the criminal case against Trump. Instead, the case will remain open and will simply include 34 misdemeanor charges. It will be a legal, communications and political victory for Trump.

Such an outcome would further reduce Trump’s chances of going to jail if convicted. The maximum penalty for falsifying business records in the second degree is up to one year in prison.

Downgrading the charges to misdemeanors could also help Trump delay the trial.

What will Trump’s lawyers focus on?

In addition, for Trump to be found guilty of falsifying business records, it must be proven that the records in question are indeed “business records.” New York law provides that the falsification is related to the records of a “company”, in this case a company owned by the Trump Organization.

However, in practice things are more complicated. It is true that the checks sent to Cohen, which described the payments as legal costs, were written by employees working for the Trump organization. But they weren’t blamed for Trump’s business. Instead, payments were made from one of Trump’s personal accounts or a family trust.

A key question that will surely be at the center of Trump’s lawyers’ efforts to change the course of the case is whether documents transmitted through the Trump organization or processed by Agency employees will automatically be classified as business records, even if they were the former president’s personal accounts as the source of funds. .

Bragg’s report states that “every check was processed by the Trump organization” and provides more information about how Cohen arranged payments from accountants at Trump companies. Prosecutors say at least two payments were authorized by former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weiselberg, who pleaded guilty to other tax evasion charges in 2021.

Legal experts have said they expect Trump’s lawyers to testify before a judge and, if necessary, before a select committee that entirely personal expenses that are simply handled by an accountant or other employees do not automatically qualify as “business records” either.

^{Source: Politico}

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