Former President Donald Trump was charged Tuesday with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records for his alleged role in hush money payments that were made during the 2016 presidential campaign to hide any impending damaging stories at the time.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg described the alleged crime as "a catch and kill scheme to boost election prospects and went to great lengths to hide it, including attempts to violate state and federal laws," according to a statement issued after Trump's arraignment.
The statement of facts put together by prosecutors in tandem with indictment accused Trump of "repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal criminal conduct that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election."
The statement of facts also includes information about hush money given to adult film star Stormy Daniels, Playboy model Karen McDougal, and a former Trump Tower doorman who'd claimed to know a story about a child Trump allegedly had out of wedlock.
Daniels was given $130,000 by former attorney Michael Cohen, while McDougal and the doorman were paid $150,000 and $30,000 respectively by American Media Incorporated, the publishers of the National Enquirer.
Trump pleaded "not guilty" during the hearing in Manhattan criminal court that lasted nearly one hour.
"During the election, TRUMP and others employed a 'catch and kill' scheme to identify, purchase, and bury negative information about him and boost his electoral prospects. TRUMP then went to great lengths to hide this conduct, causing dozens of false entries in business records to conceal criminal activity, including attempts to violate state and federal election laws," according to Bragg's statement. "TRUMP is charged in a New York State Supreme Court indictment with 34 counts of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree."
Prosecutors with Bragg's office said that Trump illegally falsified business records when his reimbursement to Cohen logged in the Trump Organization's books as a "monthly retainer" for his legal work.
Altogether, the charges carry a maximum sentence of up to 136 years in prison, though it is unlikely that he would face that if he is convicted.
Trump's attorneys said the case appeared blatantly political and that they would fight the charges all the way.
The former president declined to answer questions before stepping into the courtroom on the 15th floor of the courthouse. He sat at a table in the courtroom alongside attorneys Todd Blanche, Susan Necheles, Joe Tacopina, and Boris Epshteyn. Bragg was also present for the proceeding as well.
Trump headed back to his home in Palm Beach, Florida, where he plans to make a speech Tuesday evening over the indictment.
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Legal experts have speculated a trial over the charges could stretch all the way to spring of 2024.
"My office, including the talented prosecutors you saw at arraignment earlier today, has charged hundreds of felony falsifying business records," Bragg said at a press conference. "This charge can be said as the bread and butter of our white collar work."