Trump's Stormy Daniels Payment: Legal Or Illegal?

In 2024, former US President Donald Trump was tried for felony charges stemming from a $130,000 payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during his 2016 election campaign. Trump's ex-attorney, Michael Cohen, made the payment to Daniels to cover up her allegations of an affair with Trump in 2006. Trump then reimbursed Cohen $420,000, which included the payment to Daniels, an additional expense, a $60,000 bonus, and money to cover taxes on the payment.

While hush money payments are not illegal in themselves, they can be illegal if they are used to cover up a crime or if the agreement is non-consensual. In Trump's case, he was not charged with making or reimbursing the payment but was indicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records. The payments to Cohen were falsely labeled as legal services through a retainer agreement.

In May 2024, Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts, making him the first former US president to be convicted of a felony. However, he did not receive a prison sentence and was instead given an unconditional discharge, meaning no jail time, fine, or probation. The judge in the case, Juan Merchan, cited Trump's age and lack of prior convictions as reasons for the lenient sentence.

Was Trump's payment to Stormy Daniels illegal?

The Payment

In 2016, adult film actress Stormy Daniels (real name Stephanie Clifford) was paid $130,000 to keep quiet about an alleged affair with Donald Trump a decade earlier. Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, made the payment directly to Daniels, and Trump reimbursed him in instalments, totalling $420,000. The payments were logged as routine legal fees and not reported as campaign expenses.

The Trial

In March 2023, a Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Trump on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. The trial began in April 2024, and on 30 May, Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts.

The Verdict

The seriousness of the charges meant it was open to the judge to impose a jail sentence. However, under New York state law, they were 'E' level felony charges—the lowest level of felony—meaning a jail sentence was not mandatory. Instead, Judge Juan Merchan gave Trump an 'unconditional discharge', meaning no jail time, no fine, and no probation. The sentence will, however, go on his permanent record.

Was It Illegal?

The $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels in itself was not illegal. "Hush money" agreements that both parties enter into consensually are perfectly legal. However, hush money payments can be illegal if they're done to cover up a crime or if the agreement is not consensual, such as in cases of blackmail or bribery.

In Trump's case, he was not charged with making or reimbursing the payment. Instead, he was indicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records, as the reimbursement payments to Cohen were allegedly disguised as legal payments.

The Outcome

Trump's criminal trial exposed a series of unethical actions, but the payment to Stormy Daniels was not in itself illegal.

Did Trump commit a crime by falsifying business records?

In 2024, former US President Donald Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal a $130,000 hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels. The payment was made by Trump's then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, in the days before the 2016 election, to keep voters in the dark about Daniels' allegation that she had sex with Trump years earlier.

The charges Trump faced dealt with the comparatively mundane paperwork that was generated when he reimbursed Cohen for the payment. The charges were 34 counts of falsification of business records in the first degree, which is a felony in New York. Each of the 34 charges corresponded to a check, invoice, and voucher generated to reimburse Cohen.

The prosecution argued that Trump knew the payments were to reimburse Cohen for the Daniels payment, not for his legal expenses. They also argued that Trump had caused the business records to be falsified, and that he "did so with intent to defraud that included an intent to commit another crime or to aid or conceal the commission thereof".

Trump's defense team argued that the payments to Cohen were for his work as Trump's attorney, not reimbursements for the Daniels payment. They also argued that the descriptions on the invoices and records were accurate, and that Cohen held the title of "personal attorney to the president" once Trump took office.

Trump was convicted on all 34 counts and became the first former or sitting US president to be tried on criminal charges and be convicted. He received an unconditional discharge for his criminal conviction, meaning he will not face fines, prison, or any other penalties.

Did Trump break campaign finance laws?

In March 2023, former US President Donald Trump was indicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. The charges were related to hush money payments made to pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels to buy her silence over a sexual encounter between them. The payments, which were made during Trump's 2016 election campaign, totalled $420,000.

The indictment alleged that Trump falsified business records with the intent to commit other crimes, including:

• Violation of federal campaign finance limits
• Unlawfully influencing the 2016 US presidential election
• Tax fraud

While the act of paying someone to keep quiet, or "hush money", is not illegal in itself, it can be illegal if it is done to cover up a crime or if the agreement is non-consensual. In Trump's case, he was not charged with making the payment or reimbursing it, but with falsifying business records.

Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, who made the payment to Daniels, pleaded guilty to federal campaign finance violations in 2018. Cohen stated that he had made the payment "at the direction of a candidate for federal office", implicating Trump.

Trump's criminal trial began in April 2024. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and decried the case as a "witch hunt". On May 30, 2024, Trump was convicted on all 34 counts, becoming the first US president to be convicted of a felony.

What was the role of Michael Cohen in the scandal?

Michael Cohen was Donald Trump's personal lawyer and worked as a counsel to the Trump Organization for over a decade. In 2016, Cohen paid $130,000 to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, who claimed to have had an affair with Trump. Cohen initially denied the existence of the affair on behalf of Trump, but later acknowledged the payment. Cohen stated that he made the payment out of his own pocket and was not reimbursed by the Trump Organization or the campaign. However, in 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to eight criminal charges, including a campaign finance violation for the payment to Daniels. He stated that he made the payment "in coordination with and at the direction of a candidate for federal office", referring to Trump. Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison for his role in the scandal and other crimes.

In the trial against Trump for felony charges related to the hush money payment, Cohen testified that he, Trump, and David Pecker of American Media, Inc. conspired to suppress negative stories and promote positive stories about Trump during the 2016 election. Cohen also testified that he and Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization's chief financial officer, discussed the reimbursement plan for the payment to Daniels with Trump, and that the payments to Cohen were falsely labeled as legal fees.

What was the outcome of the trial?

On May 30, 2024, a Manhattan jury found former President Donald Trump guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. The charges related to a $130,000 payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels (aka Stephanie Clifford) in October 2016 to cover up her allegations of an affair with Trump in 2006. Trump reimbursed his ex-attorney Michael Cohen $420,000, which included the payment to Daniels, a separate expense, a $60,000 bonus, and money to cover taxes on the payment. These payments were made through the Trump Organization and Trump's personal bank account, and were disguised as legal services through a retainer agreement.

While "hush money" agreements are not illegal in themselves, they can be if they are used to cover up a crime or if the agreement is not consensual. In Trump's case, he was not charged with making the payment or reimbursing Cohen, but with falsifying business records. The prosecution argued that the payments to Cohen were falsely labeled as legal payments and were done to conceal other crimes, including Cohen's campaign finance crimes and tax issues.

Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges and decried the case as a "witch hunt." His lawyers argued that the payments to Cohen were not unlawful and that Trump was unaware of any unlawful scheme. They also questioned the reliability of Cohen as a witness, as he had perjured himself in the past.

The trial began on April 15, 2024, and the jury reached a verdict after just over a day of deliberations. Trump was convicted on all 34 counts, becoming the first former U.S. president to be convicted of a felony. He faced up to four years in prison on each count, but many experts believed incarceration was unlikely due to his age and lack of prior convictions.

On January 10, 2025, Trump was sentenced by Judge Juan Merchan to an "`unconditional discharge,'" meaning he received no jail time, fine, or probation. Merchan stated that he did not intend to sentence Trump to jail and that an unconditional discharge was the "most viable solution to ensure finality" in the case before Trump took office for his second term as president. Merchan also noted that Trump's stature as a presidential candidate and president made his behavior more egregious.

Trump is expected to appeal his conviction and has until January 20, 2025, to do so.

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