On Tuesday, Donald Trump appeared before a New York judge to enter a not guilty plea on 34 charges of forgery related to company documents. He was the first sitting President of the United States to face criminal charges.
Trump responded, “Not guilty,” when asked how he would answer.
At the first hearing in the Stormy Daniels hush money case, the 76-year-old Trump sat in court with his defense team in Manhattan, hands folded on chest and expressionless.
Trump is accused of paying $130,000 to Daniels and $150,000 to a former Playboy model called Karen McDougal for information about a child he allegedly fathered outside of his marriage.
The prosecution claims these events prove Trump conspired to pay off journalists who were writing negative tales about him in order to protect his 2016 presidential campaign.
District Attorney Alvin Bragg said at a press conference after the case, “It’s not just about one payment.” There are 34 forgeries and 34 company documents. They were covering up some kind of wrongdoing.
If Trump is proven guilty of all counts of first-degree falsifying company documents under New York law, he faces a possible prison term of more than 100 years. Even if Trump is found guilty of all counts, he is unlikely to receive such a lengthy sentence. Each count carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison and is considered a misdemeanor.
Trump “orchestrated a scheme” with others “to influence the 2016 presidential election by identifying and buying negative information about him to suppress its publication and help the Defendant’s electoral prospects,” according to the state of facts released by prosecutors, though no formal charge of conspiracy was filed.
The payments were part of “an illegal plan to find and hide negative information that could have hurt Trump’s presidential campaign,” Assistant District Attorney Christopher Conroy said during the conference.
The duration of the meeting was close to an hour. Trump was not ordered to remain silent by Judge Juan Merchan, but he was warned against tweeting anything that might anger his supporters.
The former president entered and exited the courthouse without making any remarks. Based on his word, he was freed. The next court hearing is on December 4.
Trump’s attorney Joe Tacopina said to reporters after the meeting, “This was not a good day.”
The actual fee itself is fine. The situation has not changed. Nothing indicates a violation of federal or local legislation. A major disappointment is that the false assertion is not identified. Because it’s tragic, we’re going to work to stop it. We intend to achieve victory through diligent effort.
According to Tacopina, Trump is displeased. He’s furious, but not without taking action. And it won’t even slow him down, let alone deter him.
Judge Juan Merchan ordered both parties to cool it during the meeting after prosecutors expressed concern about recent social media posts by Trump, including one in which he appeared to raise a baseball bat to the head of the lead attorney in the case.