Kara Sears
Former US President Donald Trump is accused of breaking several laws, including falsifying business records, violating election law, and tax violations. Trump was accused of falsifying reimbursement checks he paid to ex-attorney Michael Cohen, who paid adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 before the 2016 election to cover up allegations of an affair. Prosecutors argued that the checks were falsely labelled as being for legal services, which would constitute a felony under New York law if it was proven that Trump intended to defraud and commit another crime. In addition, Trump has been accused of violating the Federal Election Campaign Act, as well as firing fraud-finding inspectors general across the government without providing notice or a rationale to Congress.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Campaign finance laws | Broken |
| Tax violations | Committed |
| Accessorial liability | Enabled crimes committed by others |
| Falsifying business records | Committed |
| Federal Election Campaign Act | Violated |
| Tax laws | Violated |
| Constitution | Violated |
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What You'll Learn
Violating the Federal Election Campaign Act
Donald Trump has been accused of violating the Federal Election Campaign Act. This accusation stems from the hush money scheme involving adult film star Stormy Daniels, who allegedly had an affair with Trump. Michael Cohen, Trump's ex-attorney, paid Daniels $130,000 before the 2016 election to cover up the allegations.
Prosecutors argue that Trump falsified reimbursement checks to Cohen, falsely labelling them as payments for legal services. This act of falsifying business records is a misdemeanor under New York law, but it becomes a felony if it is proven that the defendant falsified records with the intent to commit another crime or to aid or conceal the commission thereof.
In this case, the jury must show that Trump falsified records to cover up a second crime, which prosecutors allege is New York's election law prohibiting conspiring to promote or prevent the election of any person to public office by unlawful means. Cohen's payment to Daniels is considered a contribution to Trump's campaign that exceeded the legal limit, and Cohen has already pleaded guilty to this violation.
To convict Trump, the jurors must agree on the first and second crimes—that Trump falsified business records in order to cover up the election crime. They can, however, differ on the third crime, which could be violating the Federal Election Campaign Act, falsifying other business records, or violating tax laws. Judge Juan Merchan instructed the jurors on several choices for the third crime, emphasising the requirement to prove "unlawful means" in influencing an election.
Trump's potential conviction for violating the Federal Election Campaign Act highlights the complexity of campaign finance laws and the potential for abuse of power by those in high office. The case also underscores the importance of upholding the integrity of elections and ensuring that those who break the law are held accountable, regardless of their position or influence.
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Falsifying business records
Trump is accused of breaking several laws, including falsifying business records. This accusation stems from the hush money trial, in which Trump is alleged to have falsified reimbursement checks paid to his ex-attorney, Michael Cohen. Cohen paid adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 before the 2016 election to cover up allegations of an affair between her and Trump. The checks were falsely labelled as being for legal services.
Under New York law, falsifying business records only requires someone to have "made or caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise". This crime is a misdemeanour, but it becomes a felony if it is proven that the defendant falsified records "with intent to defraud that includes an intent to commit another crime or to aid or conceal the commission thereof". In this case, the second crime that Trump is accused of is violating New York's election law, which prohibits "conspiring to promote or prevent the election of any person to a public office by unlawful means".
For Trump to be convicted, the jury must agree that he committed the first and second crimes, and they must also determine whether a third crime was committed that made the hush money scheme violate the election law. This third crime could be violating the Federal Election Campaign Act, meaning that Cohen's payment to Daniels was a contribution to Trump's campaign that exceeded the legal limit. It could also be falsifying other business records, as Cohen created a fake shell company to send the payment, or violating tax laws by making false entries on tax returns related to the payment.
The judge's instructions explained to the jury the concept of "accessorial liability", which means that Trump can be convicted for crimes he undertook with someone else, as long as there is proof that he "solicited, requested, commanded, importuned, or intentionally aided that person to engage" in the illegal conduct. Therefore, even if Cohen directly carried out an illegal action, Trump could still be convicted if the jury finds that he enabled the crime.
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Violating tax laws
Trump is accused of violating tax laws by making false entries on tax returns related to the hush money payment to Stormy Daniels.
In 2016, Trump's ex-attorney Michael Cohen paid adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to cover up allegations of an affair with Trump before the 2016 election. Cohen pleaded guilty to making an illegal campaign contribution to Trump's campaign that exceeded the legal limit.
Trump is accused of falsifying reimbursement checks he paid to Cohen, falsely labelling them as being for legal services. Under New York law, falsification of business records only requires someone to have "made or caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise". This is a misdemeanour, but it becomes a felony if it's proven that the defendant falsified records "with intent to defraud that includes an intent to commit another crime or to aid or conceal the commission thereof".
For Trump to be convicted, jurors must agree that he falsified business records in order to cover up the election crime. They must also determine whether a third crime was committed that made the hush money scheme violate the election law. This could be violating tax laws by making false entries on tax returns related to the payment.
Even if Cohen directly carried out the illegal action, Trump could still be convicted if the jury finds that he enabled the crime. This is known as "accessorial liability", which means that Trump can still be convicted for crimes he undertook in conjunction with someone else as long as there is proof that he "solicited, requested, commanded, importuned, or intentionally aided that person to engage" in the illegal conduct.
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Paying hush money
Trump has been accused of breaking several laws, including those relating to the payment of hush money.
In the Trump Hush Money Trial, the former president was accused of falsifying reimbursement checks he paid to ex-attorney Michael Cohen. Cohen paid adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 before the 2016 election to cover up allegations of an affair. Prosecutors argued that the checks were falsely labelled as being for legal services. Under New York law, falsifying business records is a misdemeanour, but it becomes a felony if it's proven that the defendant falsified records with the intent to defraud or to aid or conceal the commission of another crime.
Prosecutors allege that Trump falsified records to cover up a violation of New York's election law, which prohibits conspiring to promote or prevent the election of any person to public office by unlawful means. Cohen allegedly paid off Daniels in order to boost Trump's campaign. This could also be a violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act, as Cohen's payment to Daniels exceeded the legal limit for campaign contributions.
In addition to these potential violations, there is also the possibility that Trump broke tax laws. This could have occurred if false entries were made on tax returns related to the payment to Daniels.
Trump has also been accused of breaking other laws during his time in office, including issuing an executive order to end birthright citizenship, which a federal judge deemed unconstitutional, and firing inspectors general across the government without providing notice or rationale to Congress.
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Violating the Constitution
Donald Trump has been accused of violating the Constitution on several occasions. One example is the executive order purporting to end birthright citizenship, which a federal judge said was "blatantly unconstitutional". Another example is the firing of inspectors general across the government without providing notice or a rationale to Congress.
Trump has also been accused of violating the Federal Election Campaign Act, which prohibits "conspir [ing] to promote or prevent the election of any person to a public office by unlawful means". This accusation stems from the hush money scheme involving Michael Cohen and adult film star Stormy Daniels. Cohen allegedly paid Daniels $130,000 before the 2016 election to cover up allegations of an affair between her and Trump. To boost Trump's campaign, Cohen created a fake shell company to send the payment, and Trump allegedly falsified reimbursement checks, labelling them as being for legal services. This could also be considered a violation of tax laws, as false entries were made on tax returns related to the payment.
For Trump to be convicted of these crimes, jurors must agree that he falsified business records to cover up the election crime. If found guilty, Trump could be convicted of a felony for falsifying business records with the intent to defraud and commit another crime.
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Frequently asked questions
The Trump Hush Money Trial relates to allegations that Trump falsified reimbursement checks he paid to ex-attorney Michael Cohen, after Cohen paid adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 before the 2016 election to cover up allegations of an affair.
Trump is accused of falsifying business records, violating the Federal Election Campaign Act, and violating tax laws.
The Federal Election Campaign Act relates to the amount of money that can be contributed to a campaign. Cohen's payment to Daniels is alleged to have been a contribution to Trump's campaign that exceeded the legal limit.
Falsifying business records is a misdemeanor under New York law, but becomes a felony if it is proven that the defendant falsified records with the intent to defraud or to aid or conceal the commission of another crime.
