Donald Trump became the first former U.S. president in history to face criminal charges today (April 4). His supporters, including congressional representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and George Santos, showed up outside New York County Criminal Court where the twice-impeached leader surrendered to authorities and pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records. Following the unprecedented arraignment, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose office handled the investigation, spoke to reporters in a brief press conference.
“These are felony crimes in New York state, no matter who you are,” Bragg stated plainly of the charges Trump faces. “We cannot and will not normalize serious criminal conduct.” He went on to describe how his office has an experienced white-collar crimes unit thanks in large part to its location. “This is the business capital of the world,” he said. “We regularly do cases involving false business statements. The bedrock of the basis for business integrity and a well-functioning business marketplace is accurate record-keeping.” Watch the full press conference below.
The case stems from an alleged hush payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the waning days of the 2016 presidential campaign. Trump, with the help of his personal lawyer Michael Cohen, allegedly paid Daniels to keep quiet about a one-night stand they had back in 2006. But as the now-unsealed grand jury indictment shows, Bragg’s case goes beyond the hush payment, unraveling an alleged “catch and kill” scheme by Trump, Cohen, and American Media, Inc. (AMI) that “agreed to identify and suppress negative stories about him,” according to CBS News. Both Cohen and AMI, the publisher of tabloids like The National Enquirer, have “admitted to committing illegal conduct in connection with the scheme.”
Bragg told reporters at the news conference that Trump allegedly “repeatedly made false statements on New York business records” and also “caused others to make false statements.” Rather than take his word for it, he insisted that the facts will speak for themselves in court. “Why did Donald Trump repeatedly make these false statements?” he questioned. “The evidence will show he did so to cover up crimes relating to the 2016 election.”