His attorneys are all but guaranteed to fight the charges tooth-and-nail in the pre-trial stages, submitting motions in efforts to exclude evidence and testimony they believe will harm his defense, as is normal in criminal cases. Trump is expected to appear in court for his arraignment on Tuesday, where he will enter a plea, and various dates for case proceedings will be set. An attorney for Trump, Susan Necheles, contended that he would have made payments to Daniels regardless of his presidential campaign. His legal team met Manhattan prosecutors to argue he should not be indicted. He denies an affair with Daniels but has admitted paying Cohen, claiming to be a victim of extortion. He has repeatedly decried investigations as political witch hunts. Trump denies wrongdoing in relation to every allegation against him, whether accusations of criminal activity or claims for civil damages. In the Manhattan case, prosecutors effectively maintain that Trump’s handling of the reimbursement violated state law. Court documents in Cohen’s federal case said the Trump Organization falsely described payments as legal expenses, citing a legal retainer that did not exist. In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance charges related to the hush money payment. When Trump was president, he reimbursed Cohen with monthly $35,000 checks from his personal account. Why was Trump indicted?Ĭohen – now an outspoken Trump foe who testified before the grand jury in the Manhattan case – made the $130,000 payment to Daniels in October 2016. Trump’s attorney at that time, Michael Cohen, orchestrated the payment to buy Daniels’ silence over an alleged sexual encounter with Trump in 2006.

The indictment relates to a hush-money payment made on his behalf to the adult film maker and actor Stormy Daniels in 2016, shortly before election day as Trump ran for president. At this point the specific charges were not immediately made public. The sealed felony indictment is likely to be unsealed in the next few days.

What does matter mean