Jury selection proceeds in the New York criminal trial involving former President Donald Trump, who stands accused of falsifying business records to conceal $130,000 in hush money paid to a porn star to aid his 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump is confronting 34 felony charges related to falsifying business records to obscure reimbursement payments to his former attorney, Michael Cohen, for the funds given to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
Daniels alleged that she engaged in sexual relations with Trump in 2006, shortly after Melania Trump delivered their son, Barron. Trump refutes this allegation.
The 34 charges are considered felonies as prosecutors contend that the falsification aimed to hide the violation of federal campaign finance contribution limits and to conceal a scheme to breach New York tax and election laws.
Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on March 30, 2023, marking him as the first former U.S. president ever to face criminal charges. The trial is anticipated to span six to eight weeks.
The Timeline:
July 2006 | Daniels meets Trump
July 2007 | ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ doesn’t happen
May 2011 | Daniels begins to tell her story
2015 | Trump runs for president
June 19 – Trump officially declares his candidacy for president.
2016 | $130,000 for Daniels’ silence
July 19 –Trump becomes the Republican presidential nominee.
Oct. 17 – Cohen establishes Essential Consultants LLC in Delaware as a corporate entity to transfer the payment to Daniels, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Oct. 26 – Cohen makes a wire transfer of $130,000 to Daniels’ attorney. First Republic Bank, which handled the transaction, reports it to the Treasury Department as suspicious.
Nov. 8 – Trump is elected president.
2017 | Cohen seeks reimbursement
Jan. 20-Trump is sworn in as president.
2018 | Daniels’ story becomes public
Jan 12 – The Wall Street Journal publishes a story that says Cohen arranged a $130,000 payoff to Daniels that included a nondisclosure agreement.
Feb. 13 – Cohen acknowledges he paid Daniels $130,000 but does not implicate Trump’s campaign.
April 5 – Trump, speaking publicly on the question for the first time, says he is unaware of a $130,000 payment to Daniels.
May 2 – Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani tells Fox News that Trump paid back Cohen the $130,000 used to pay Daniels.
Aug. 21 – Cohen pleads guilty to eight charges related to tax fraud, excessive campaign contributions, and unlawful corporate contributions and making false statements to a financial institution.
Dec. 12 – Cohen is sentenced to three years in federal prison.
2019 | Cohen sent to prison
May 6 – Cohen begins his prison sentence.
Aug. 1 – The Manhattan District Attorney’s office subpoenas the Trump Organization for records on payments to Daniels and McDougal.
Sept. 17 – The Manhattan District Attorney’s office subpoenas Trump’s tax returns back to 2011.
Sept. 19 – Trump sues to block subpoenas, claiming he has immunity. The suits are later rejected.
2020 | Trump forced to release tax records
July 9 – Supreme Court rules 7-2 that Trump must comply with the subpoena and turn over his tax records.
Aug. 22 – California court orders Trump to pay $44,100 for Daniels’ legal fees.
2021 | Trump companies indicted
Feb. 22 – Supreme Court rejects Trump’s appeal to keep tax documents private.
Feb. 25 – Manhattan District Attorney’s Office receives Trump’s tax records.
Nov. 2 – Alvin Bragg is elected Manhattan district attorney, replacing retiring Cyrus Vance Jr., who did not run for office again.
Nov. 22 – Cohen is released from federal custody after being on house arrest.
2022 | Trump announces third presidential run
Nov. 15 – Trump announces he’ll run for president in 2024.
2023 | Indictment looms for Trump
March 9 – Manhattan District Attorney’s office invites Trump to testify before the grand jury investigating hush money allegedly paid to Daniels and McDougal.
March 13 – Trump’s attorneys say the former president won’t testify before the grand jury. Cohen testifies before the grand jury for the first time.
March 15 – Cohen testifies before the grand jury again, for three hours.
March 18 – Trump says on social media that he may be arrested. He calls for supporters to protest.
March 19 – Police in New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles put up barricades in anticipation of protests by Trump supporters.
March 30 –The grand jury in Manhattan issues a sealed indictment against Trump.
April 4 –The 34-felony count is unsealed in Manhattan. Trump pleads not guilty.
Feb. 15, 2024 – Juan Merchan, the presiding judge in the New York trial, denies Trump’s motion to dismiss the case.
