New York County District Legal professional Alvin Bragg speaks after former U.S. President Donald Trump appeared at Manhattan Felony Courthouse, after his indictment by a Manhattan grand jury following a probe into hush cash paid to porn star Stormy Daniels, in New York Metropolis, April 4, 2023.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Former President Donald Trump falsified enterprise information so as to “cowl up crimes” associated to the 2016 presidential election, Manhattan District Legal professional Alvin Bragg mentioned Tuesday after the ex-president’s historic arrest and arraignment.
“Underneath New York State legislation, it’s a felony to falsify enterprise information with the intention of fraud and intent to hide one other crime,” Bragg mentioned at a information convention Tuesday afternoon.
“That’s precisely what this case is about,” he mentioned.
Observe CNBC’s stay protection of Trump’s arraignment Tuesday.
Trump lower than two hours earlier pleaded not responsible to 34 felony counts of falsifying enterprise information stemming from Bragg’s probe centering on hush cash funds made to 2 girls forward of the 2016 election. Trump received that race in opposition to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
Bragg mentioned Trump made false statements “month after month” in 2017 when he reimbursed his former lawyer Michael Cohen for the funds, claiming they have been for authorized providers.
“Why did Donald Trump repeatedly make these false statements? The proof will present he did so to cowl up crimes associated to the 2016 election,” Bragg mentioned.
The alleged scheme to hide funds from the general public “violated New York election legislation, which makes it against the law to conspire to advertise a candidacy by illegal means,” the DA mentioned.
“These are felony crimes in New York state, regardless of who you might be. We can not and won’t normalize critical felony conduct,” he mentioned.
That assertion got here as Bragg has weathered a tidal wave of criticism from Trump and his allies, who accuse the Manhattan DA of pursuing a politically biased case, focusing on him as a result of he’s a number one Republican candidate within the 2024 presidential race.
The grand jury’s vote final week to indict Trump made him the primary former president in U.S. historical past ever to face felony prices.
The 16-page indictment was unsealed after Trump’s arraignment earlier Tuesday afternoon. The DA’s workplace additionally launched a press release of info that detailed alleged efforts to suppress the publication of claims from two girls, porn star Stormy Daniels and ex-Playboy mannequin Karen McDougal, who each alleged that they had intercourse with Trump years earlier whereas he was married.
