For the first time in U.S. history, a former President is under arrest.
Donald Trump has been arraigned and indicted on 34 (thirty-four!) counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Each of the 34 counts is related to a different invoice to attorney Michael Cohen or entry into the “Detail General Ledger for the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust” used by Trump and his attorney to cover up hush-money payouts to adult film star Stormy Daniels as business expenses.
The Grand Jury document detailing the charges lays out all of the ways Trump and Cohen sought to hide their dirty dealings, also providing a timeline that spans February 14, 2017 to December 5, 2017.
The charges concern the following pieces of evidence:
- an invoice from Michael Cohen dated February 14, 2017
- an entry in the Detail General Ledger for the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, bearing voucher number 842457
- an entry in the Detail General Ledger for the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, bearing voucher number 842460
- a Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust Account check and check stub dated February 14, 2017, bearing check number 000138
- an entry in the Detail General Ledger for the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, bearing voucher number 846907
- a Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust Account check and check stub dated March 17, 2017, bearing check number 000147
- an invoice from Michael Cohen dated April 13, 2017
- an entry in the Detail General Ledger for Donald J. Trump, bearing voucher number 858770
- a Donald J. Trump account check and check stub dated June 19, 2017, bearing check number 002740
- an invoice from Michael Cohen dated May 22, 2017, marked as a record of Donald J. Trump
- an entry in the Detail General Ledger for Donald J. Trump, bearing voucher number 855331
- a Donald J. Trump account check and check stub dated May 23, 2017, bearing check number 002700
- an invoice from Michael Cohen dated June 16, 2017, marked as a record of Donald J. Trump
- an entry in the Detail General Ledger for Donald J. Trump, bearing voucher number 858772
- a Donald J. Trump account check and check stub dated June 19, 2017, bearing check number 002741
- an invoice from Michael Cohen dated July 11, 2017, marked as a record of Donald J. Trump
- an entry in the Detail General Ledger for Donald J. Trump, bearing voucher number 861096
- a Donald J. Trump account check and check stub dated July 11, 2017, bearing check number 002781
- an invoice from Michael Cohen dated August 1, 2017, marked as a record of Donald J. Trump
- an entry in the Detail General Ledger for Donald J. Trump, bearing voucher number 863641
- a Donald J. Trump account check and check stub dated August 1, 2017, bearing check number 002821
- an invoice from Michael Cohen dated September 11, 2017, marked as a record of Donald J. Trump
- an entry in the Detail General Ledger for Donald J. Trump, bearing voucher number 868174
- a Donald J. Trump account check and check stub dated September 12, 2017, bearing check number 002908
- an invoice from Michael Cohen dated October 18, 2017, marked as a record of Donald J. Trump
- an entry in the Detail General Ledger for Donald J. Trump, bearing voucher number 872654
- a Donald J. Trump account check and check stub dated October 18, 2017, bearing check number 002944
- an invoice from Michael Cohen dated November 20, 2017, marked as a record of Donald J. Trump
- an entry in the Detail General Ledger for Donald J. Trump, bearing voucher number 876511
- a Donald J. Trump account check and check stub dated November 21, 2017, bearing check number 002980
- an invoice from Michael Cohen dated December 1, 2017, marked as a record of Donald J. Trump
- an entry in the Detail General Ledger for Donald J. Trump, bearing voucher number 877785
- a Donald J. Trump account check and check stub dated December 5, 2017, bearing check number 003006
Every major news network is providing live coverage of the indictment. You can see Trump being escorted into the Manhattan court building by Secret Service at around an hour and 27 minutes into NBC’s live stream.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and unfortunately, we won’t have another in-person hearing for the case until December. It may be some time yet before we begin to understand the full extent of the charges and what they mean for the former president.
In the meantime, Trump is the subject of three other investigations: The Department of Justice is currently looking into classified documents found at the former president’s home in Florida, as well as evidence that he may have interfered with the 2020 election; a Georgia district attorney is mulling similar charges related to interference in the 2020 election; and the New York attorney general has filed a civil fraud suit against the Trump Organization.
It’s possible that the indictment in Manhattan will encourage acting officials in these cases to move forward with pursuing charges. We can hope.
(featured image: Seth Wenig, Pool / Getty Images)
