The News Not Noise Letter: Historic, Unprecedented….and an "Insult to Our Country"?
Donald Trump is the first US president to be indicted for a crime. Here’s what happened, what comes next, and what the critics everywhere are saying.
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Today, former President Donald Trump made history as the first US president to be charged with a criminal offense. In many ways this was a momentous event, signifying that no one, regardless of wealth or political power, is above the law. In others, it was — in the words of one former federal prosecutor — “underwhelming.” There were no surprising new allegations and not a ton of detail in the charging documents.
Trump appeared at the Manhattan Criminal Court, where he was fingerprinted and arraigned on 34 felony charges of falsifying business records in the first degree. There was no mugshot, no handcuffs. He pleaded not guilty to all charges and after an extended hearing left the building and headed home to Mar-a-Lago. In a fundraising email Trump declared this “the darkest day in American history,” then asked for more money. (His team says they’ve raised $7 million in the three days after his indictment). They’ve already pounced on his latest publicity, launching a $36 T-shirt with a fake mug shot that reads “Not Guilty” to raise money from his supporters (and perhaps a few spiteful Democrats).
At Mar-a-Lago tonight, Trump gave a speech that sounded more like a conspiracy-theory laden campaign rant than a legal defense. He wove together his grievances against the prosecutor – whom he called a “woke” “reverse racist” – and the justice system: “I never thought anything like this could happen in America.” He lamented that “our country is going to hell” and made a lot of bizarre/racist statements about his classified documents going to “Chinatown.” He also declared the trial “an insult to our country,” insisting, “the only crime I have committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it.”
Understanding the Charges: Trump was charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
The narrative: Prosecutors allege Trump’s former lawyer and “fixer” Michael Cohen, and the CEO of American Media, Inc. (AMI) David Pecker — the former publisher of the National Enquirer — agreed to “identify and suppress negative stories” about Trump in the leadup to the 2016 election. This strategy is known as a “catch-and-kill” scheme. That’s when a media organization pays for exclusive rights to a potentially-harmful story then never publishes it, silencing the source and preventing the public from learning the information. (This isn’t itself illegal. Prosecutors say the way Trump et al booked the payments was illegal.) Pecker allegedly said he would be Trump’s “eyes and ears” and alert Cohen to any negative stories that might come up.
Together Pecker’s and Cohen allegedly made payments to kill three stories from three different sources. Trump later reimbursed Cohen for these payments under the guise of monthly “legal retainers” for services supposedly provided in 2017, though no such services occurred.
The Statement of Facts highlighted three large payments:
In 2015, a former doorman for Trump Tower “was trying to sell information regarding a child that the Defendant had allegedly fathered out of wedlock.” AMI paid the doorman $30,000 “to acquire exclusive rights to the story,” which AMI never published. After the payment, AMI later “concluded that the story was not true.”
In 2016, a woman referred to in the document as “Woman 1” (presumably model and former Playboy playmate Karen McDougal) alleged that she “had a sexual relationship with the Defendant [Trump] while he was married.” AMI allegedly paid her $150,000 to keep quiet about the story and also promised her two magazine cover features and “a series of articles that would be published under her byline.”
Also in 2016, “Woman 2” (presumably adult film actress Stormy Daniels) alleged she had a “sexual encounter” with Trump while he was married. Cohen and this woman’s lawyer agreed on a $130,000 payment in exchange for her silence. Prosecutors allege Trump told Cohen to “delay making a payment to Woman 2 as long as possible,” and that he “did not want to make the $130,000 payment himself.” Prosecutors say Cohen funneled his personal funds through a shell corporation to pay this woman himself. Cohen pleaded guilty to charges related to this payment, including campaign finance violations, in 2018 and served jail time.
The indictment further alleges that Trump thanked Pecker for his help by inviting him to his inauguration and a dinner at the White House. This suggests he used the power of his office to advance illegal activity.