'Serious criminal conduct': Alvin Bragg says Trump charged over three hush-money schemes
New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg addressed the press after Donald Trump appeared in a Manhattan court for his arrangement.
The full indictment has been posted online, showing all 34 felony charges that include allegations about tax crimes as well as the falsification of business records.
The podium was set between two large charts titled "The People vs. Donald J. Trump."
The one on the left shows the $130,000 hush money payment with an arrow down to "34 counts of falsifying business records, checks, invoices and general ledger entries." Below that appeared "attempt to commit or conceal another crime."
"That is exactly what this case is about 34 false statements made to cover up other crimes," said Bragg. "These are felony crimes in New York state, no matter who you are. We cannot and will not normalize serious criminal conduct. The defendant repeatedly made false statements on New York business records. He also caused others to make false statements.
"The defendant claimed he was paying Michael Cohen for legal services performed in 2015. This simply was not true. It was a false statement the defendant made month after month in 2017. April, May, June and so on through the rest of the year for nine straight months, the defendant held documents in his hand containing this key lie that he was paying Michael Cohen for legal services performed in 2017 he personally signed checks for."
He goes on to cite the "catch and kill" scheme from AMI through David Pecker for Karen McDougal as well as adult film star Stormy Daniels.
"Donald Trump and others made three payments to people who claimed to have negative information about Mr. Trump," Bragg continued. "To make these payments, they set up shell companies and they made yet more false statements, including, for example, AMI, American Media Incorporated. Business records show they paid money to keep quiet a woman named Stormy Daniels less than two weeks before the presidential election."
He said that the payment was to hide damaging information from the public. Each piece violates New York law, he explained.
It violated New York State election laws, he explained and while he cited the campaign finance cap. That federal cap appears to be what Trump's lawyers were complaining about outside the courthouse after the arrangement.
"He could not say that the payments were reimbursements for Mr. Cohen's payments to Stormy Daniels. To do so, to make that true statement, would have been to admit a crime," Bragg explained. "So, instead, Mr. Trump said he was paying Mr. Cohen for fictitious legal services in 2017 to cover up an actual crime committed the prior year. And in order to get Michael Cohen his money back, they planned one more false statement. They planned to mischaracterize the payments as income to the New York state tax authorities."
He went on to explain that these crimes aren't unusual for them to charge in New York, because there is so much white-collar crime from the financial and business capital of the world.
"The conduct I just described, and that which was charged by the grand jury, is felony criminal conduct in New York state," Bragg continued. "True and accurate business records are important everywhere, to be sure they are all the more important in Manhattan the financial center of the world. That is why we have a history in the man hearn D.A.'s office of vigorously enforcing white-collar crime, including the talented prosecutors you saw earlier today, has charged hundreds of felony charges this can be said to be the bread and butter of our work we have charged falsifying business records for those who violated federal bank secrecy laws we have charged falsifying business records for those seeking to cover up sex crimes and we have brought this charge for those who committed tax violations. At its core, this case today is one with allegations like so many of our white-collar cases, allegations that someone lie again and again to protect their interests and evade the laws to which we are all held accountable."
Watch Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg's Full Press Conference Below:
