Everything You Should Know About Trump’s Indictment 

It’s been over two years since Donald Trump was in office. Still, between his reelection in the 2024 presidential election, the investigation around the classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago residence, and his recent indictment, the former president of the United States has continued to dominate headlines. 

On April 4, Trump arrived in lower Manhattan for his arraignment, where he received 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. These charges primarily focus on an investigation into the $130,000 in hush money sent to adult actress Stormy Daniels to dissuade her from divulging a sexual encounter she had with the 45th president in 2006. 

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has taken the lead on this case, with Daniels and Michael Cohen as key witnesses.  

Less than two weeks before the 2016 presidential election,  Cohen wired the money to Daniels through shell companies to conceal the transactions from the law. In a press conference following the arraignment, Bragg stated that when Trump reimbursed Cohen, he claimed to be paying his former lawyer for legal services. However, there were 34 documents containing this false information. 

“Donald Trump, executives at American Media Incorporated, Cohen, and others agreed in 2015 to […] a scheme to buy and suppress negative information to help Trump’s chance of winning,” Bragg said. 

This “catch and kill scheme” violates New York state election laws, which declare conspiracy to promote a candidacy by unlawful means as a crime. 

The former president returned to his residence in Mar-a-Lago following the arraignment, expressing his disdain for the indictment. “I never thought this could happen in America.” He said, “The only crime I have committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it.” 

Trump’s lawyer Joe Tacopina believes this case “would not have been brought against another individual if his name wasn’t Donald Trump,” as he told Gayle King.

Tacopina then compared this occurrence to Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. “We [the United States legal system] don’t go after people we don’t like to find a crime, and that’s what happened here.” 

Weeks before the indictment’s announcement, Trump had taken to his social media platform, Truth Social, and falsely claimed his arrest would occur on March 21. In the same post, he prompted his supporters to protest and “take our nation back.” Some have taken to Twitter to express concerns surrounding this post and how it could turn into a riot resembling the January 6 takeover on Capitol Hill in 2021.

According to Tacopina, the former president is “not worried at all” about the indictment. Even if he is found guilty of the grand jury’s charges, Trump can still run for the 2024 presidential election. However, if the jury decides he is guilty, it will be the first of the many investigations against Trump that will result in charges.