Keith Mack
The Stormy Daniels–Donald Trump scandal involves an alleged one-night sexual encounter in 2006 between the businessman-turned-US president and the pornographic film actress. In 2018, The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump's former attorney, Michael Cohen, paid Daniels $130,000 as hush money to buy her silence during the 2016 Trump campaign. Cohen later pleaded guilty to making the payment as an illegal contribution to Trump's campaign and was sentenced to three years in prison. Trump was also prosecuted in New York for falsifying business records to hide the reimbursement he made to Cohen. In 2024, a Manhattan jury found Trump guilty of 34 felony counts of falsification, making him the first former US president to become a convicted felon.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of felony counts | 34 |
| Reason for felony counts | Falsifying business records |
| Reason for falsifying business records | To hide the true nature of a repayment to Michael Cohen |
| Amount of repayment to Michael Cohen | $130,000 |
| Reason for repayment to Michael Cohen | To silence adult film star Stormy Daniels |
| Amount of signature count on checks | Unknown, but his signature doesn't appear on all of them |
| Date of trial | May 31, 2024 |
What You'll Learn
Trump's hush money payment to Stormy Daniels
In 2018, the Stormy Daniels–Donald Trump scandal broke, involving an alleged one-night sexual encounter between the adult film actress and the businessman-turned-president in 2006. In the lead-up to the 2016 election, Trump's then-lawyer and personal fixer, Michael Cohen, paid Daniels $130,000 in hush money to buy her silence. This was done through a shell company, Essential Consultants LLC, which Cohen had set up in Delaware.
After the story broke, Cohen cooperated with federal investigators and admitted that the payment was an illegal contribution to Trump's campaign, intended to influence the election. Cohen pleaded guilty to this and other crimes and was sentenced to three years in prison. Trump, meanwhile, was alleged to have reimbursed Cohen via false business records to hide the true nature of the transaction.
The scandal led to Trump becoming the first former U.S. president to be tried for a crime. He was prosecuted in New York for falsifying business records to conceal the hush-money payment and another crime—either Cohen's illegal campaign contribution, tax law violations, or Trump's own participation in the conspiracy to influence the 2016 election through unlawful means. A jury found him guilty on all 34 counts.
Trump faced no legal penalties for his conviction in the hush-money case, but the conviction stood, making him the first convicted felon to become president.
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Trump's falsification of business records
In 2025, former US President Donald Trump was found guilty of 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 through Trump's then-attorney Michael Cohen in the lead-up to the 2016 US presidential election, which Trump won.
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office alleged that Trump committed a crime by improperly recording the money used to reimburse Cohen as legal expenses. They further accused him of falsifying business records to conceal a second crime—a violation of state election law.
The trial centred on a reimbursement Trump made to Cohen, who claimed on the witness stand that he paid Daniels $130,000 in exchange for her silence about her alleged tryst with Trump. Cohen claimed that he did so at Trump's direction and with the assurance that he would be repaid. While hush-money payments are not illegal, the improper recording of the reimbursement as legal expenses is a crime.
Trump was prosecuted in New York for falsifying his business records to hide any one of three other crimes: Cohen's illegal campaign contribution, tax law violations, or Trump's own participation in the alleged conspiracy to influence the 2016 presidential election through unlawful means.
Trump's lawyers confirmed that the sentence would be appealed.
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Trump's conspiracy to win the 2016 election through unlawful means
In 2023, a grand jury indicted former US President Donald Trump for his alleged role in the Stormy Daniels–Donald Trump scandal, marking the first criminal trial of a former US president. The scandal involved an alleged one-night sexual encounter in 2006 between Trump and pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels, a conspiracy on Trump's part to cover up the story in the month before the 2016 US presidential election, and Trump's falsification of business records as part of the conspiracy.
In 2024, Trump was prosecuted in New York for falsifying business records to hide one of three other crimes: Cohen's illegal campaign contribution, tax law violations, or Trump's own participation in the alleged conspiracy to influence the 2016 presidential election through unlawful means.
In May 2024, the trial's final day of arguments wrapped up after nearly eight hours of closing arguments. The prosecution walked jurors through the details of events and witness testimony to show that Trump's objective, along with those in his orbit, was to "hoodwink the American voter" leading up to the 2016 election.
In June 2024, Trump was found guilty of 34 felony counts, all stemming from the $130,000 hush money payment he made to Stormy Daniels. The payment was made to buy her silence about their alleged sexual encounter in the lead-up to the 2016 election, which Trump won.
In January 2025, Trump was sentenced to an unconditional discharge for the 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to the hush-money payment during the 2016 election.
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Trump's violation of state election law
In 2024, former US President Donald Trump was found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. The case revolved around payments made before the 2016 presidential election to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to buy her silence about her allegation of a sexual encounter with Trump a few years prior.
Trump was not charged with making the hush money payment to Daniels. Instead, the charges against him were related to how he repaid his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, who had made the payment. Prosecutors alleged that Trump was responsible for falsifying 34 different business records to hide the true nature of that repayment, calling them legal fees instead. Trump did so intending to commit or conceal another crime, which was a violation of state election law.
To convict Trump of each of the 34 charges, the prosecutors had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump was involved in the scheme to falsify these records. They argued that Trump had caused others to maintain these false records or assisted and requested others to maintain or create and maintain false records, so that he was part of the scheme.
The jury found that the payment to Daniels was facilitated to benefit Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, making the falsification of business records a felony. The second crime, the campaign finance conspiracy, was spelled out by prosecutors a year ago.
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Trump's reimbursement of Michael Cohen
In 2016, Michael Cohen, Donald Trump's personal lawyer and self-described "fixer", paid adult film actress Stormy Daniels $130,000 as hush money to conceal an alleged affair between her and Trump. Cohen claimed that he made the payment at Trump's direction and with the assurance that he would be repaid.
Trump initially denied knowing about the payment, but later admitted that Cohen represented him in the "Stormy Daniels deal". Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, also stated that Trump reimbursed Cohen for the payment. However, Trump contradicted Giuliani's statement, saying that Giuliani "wasn't familiar with everything".
In August 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to eight criminal charges, including a campaign finance violation for the payment to Daniels. He stated under oath that he made the payment "in coordination with and at the direction of a candidate for federal office". Cohen was sentenced to three years in federal prison.
In May 2024, a New York jury found Trump guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to the hush money payment. The prosecution argued that Trump had improperly recorded the reimbursement to Cohen as legal expenses, committing a violation of state election law.
Trump's reimbursement of Cohen occurred through monthly payments of $35,000, with a check dated August 1, 2017, obtained by PBS NewsHour, serving as evidence. Trump's company maintained documents recording these payments as legal fees.
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Frequently asked questions
The scandal involved an alleged one-night sexual encounter in 2006 between Donald Trump and pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels. The scandal also involved a conspiracy on the part of Trump to cover up the story in the month prior to the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and Trump's falsification of business records as part of the conspiracy.
A jury found Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump was the first former U.S. president to become a convicted felon.
The payment was made to buy her silence about her alleged affair with Trump in the lead-up to the 2016 election.
