Prosecutor says Trump orchestrated illegal plot to suppress harmful information

The prosecutor of Manhattan, Alvin Braggsaid this Tuesday that the former president donald trumpindicted today for 34 crimes of falsifying business records, orchestrated an illegal plot that issued three payments to people with harmful information about him ahead of the 2016 presidential elections.

Trump appeared before the judge today John Merchanfollowed each movement by cameras that captured his serious gesture, to find out about charges that had remained sealed since Thursday, when a grand jury considered that there was enough evidence and arguments in the case to charge the ex-president.

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Bragg summarized the accusations in a press conference after that court hearing, from which only Merchan’s warning to Trump about his inflammatory rhetoric on social networks was leaked, and after which the businessman boarded his private plane to his mansion. of Floridawhere he wrote on his Truth social network that he had not done anything illegal.

Trump, with the editor American Media Incorporated (AMI) and his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen“agreed in 2015 to run a ‘catch and kill’ plot, which is a plot to buy and suppress negative information, to improve Trump’s chances of winning the electionBragg explained.

That plot, he denounced, included criminal activities such as the establishment of shell companies and the production of false documents, and compared it to a “conspiracy to promote an (election) candidacy by illegal means”.

Three payments and a surprise

He added that “made three payments to people who claimed to have negative information” about Trump, something that was surprising, since it was known that the bulk of the investigation revolved around the porn actress stormy danielsand a second payment had recently been leaked to another woman, the model Karen McDougal.

Daniels was paid $130,000 by Cohen two weeks before the 2016 election through “a shell company”, according to what was revealed by the ex-lawyer after pleading guilty and serving a sentence, an amount that “exceeds federal campaign contribution limitBragg said.

Trump subsequently wrote eleven checks for Cohen.”for fraudulent purposes”, which were processed by your Organization and “disguised as payments for legal services” provided by the lawyer in 2017 but which were “fictional”.

If he had said he was reimbursing Cohen for the 2016 Daniels payment, which was in excess of campaign finance limits, Trump would have “admitted a crime“, argument.

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The second woman in the case, McDougal, was paid $150,000 for her silence about an alleged sexual relationship with the then-candidate, similar to what happened with Daniels.

The third payment that was not known, and that dates back to 2015, as specified by the Prosecutor’s Office in a press release, was made by AMI, which delivered $30,000 to a former Trump Tower doorman.who claimed to have a story about a child Trump had out of wedlock”.

Fraud in the business capital

The prosecutor noted that Trump toured “great distances to hide their behavior”, leading to dozens of false entries in your company’s business records for “conceal criminal activity, including attempts to violate state and federal election laws”.

After winning the election, the president reimbursed Cohen several monthly checks, collected in the indictment, from a fund he created to hold the company’s assets. trump organization while I was in the White Houseand then from your personal bank account.

The prosecutor, who has been the target of hundreds of threats as a result of the investigation into irregular payments and also a target of Trump himself and his followers, who accuse him of “political persecution” and “illegal interference”, he defended his 24-year career today and the “comprehensive” work of his office and the grand jury.

Since he took up his position more than a year ago, he assured that his office has filed a hundred charges similar to those of today and described the state of NY as “the business capital of the world”, claiming that it is based on “the integrity of the market, which are the true and correct accounting records”.

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According to experts, the 34 counts of falsification of commercial documents, which in the state of New York are a misdemeanor punishable with less than 1 year in prison, are aggravated by being linked to the promotion or concealment of another crime, in this case election-related, which carries up to 4 years.

However, it is a case without legal precedent and Trump is expected to follow his usual strategy in litigation, which consists of deferring matters as long as possible, so the only thing to be expected will be slowness in the first judicial process against a President or former President of the United States.

Source: Elcomercio

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I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.