Donald Trump pleads not guilty to 34 felony charges in hush money case

Donald Trump on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to 34 felony charges of falsifying business records and conspiracy related to his role in hush money payments to cover up an alleged extramarital affair in the final days of the 2016 presidential election, an unprecedented development that marks the first time in American history a former president has been charged with a crime.

Trump, the 45th commander in chief and the leading contender for the Republican nomination in 2024, was stone-faced as he entered the courtroom in lower Manhattan on Tuesday afternoon, after surrendering to authorities in the city where he was born, built his career and launched his bid for the presidency.

While he was in custody, Trump, like any other criminal defendant, was fingerprinted. But given the extraordinary nature of the proceedings, he was also afforded special accommodations: he was not handcuffed and was not subject to a mug shot.

In his appearance before New York supreme court justice Juan Merchan, Trump himself entered the plea of not guilty, part of an effort to project an air of defiance, people close to him said. But seated between his lawyers at the defense table, Trump appeared affected by the gravity of the moment, which amounted to a legal reckoning for the reality TV star-turned-president after nearly half a century of avoiding criminal charges.

According to the charging document, unsealed on Tuesday, prosecutors accused the former president of paying $130,000 to buy the silence of adult film star Stormy Daniels, who said she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006. The payment was made by his then lawyer Michael Cohen, who said he was acting at the direction of Trump. Trump later reimbursed Cohen while serving as president of the United States.

New York prosecutors allege that Trump violated state records law because it was falsely recorded as legal expenses, which also meant Trump avoided paying tax on the money.

The arraignment marks a politically and legally perilous moment for Trump, and also for the country, which has never before been confronted with the extraordinary situation of a twice-impeached, criminally charged former president now running for re-election to the White House.

The New York case is just one of an array of legal threats confronting the former president, who faces criminal investigations over the January 6 Capitol attack, his retention of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia, as well as civil inquiries into his business and a defamation suit arising from allegations of rape.