The first of former President Donald Trump’s (R) many indictments were issued by a New York grand jury on March 30, 2023. Trump appeared at the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse on April 4 and entered a “not guilty” plea. The thirty-four-count indictment and an associated “Statement of Facts” were released to the public later that day.
The indictment alleges that Trump violated New York state law by falsifying business records. The case is related to “hush money” payments made through “Lawyer A” to “Woman 2” that were intended to prevent public disclosure of a sexual affair the woman allegedly had with Trump in 2006.
“Lawyer A” is believed to be Michael Cohen, who then worked for the Trump Organization as Special Council to Trump. I will refer to him by name in this article. “Woman 2” is believed to be adult film actress and director Stephanie Gregory Clifford, who is known professionally as Stormy Daniels. I will refer to her by her professional name in this review.
This article is based on the information that is publicly available at the time of its writing. It may need to be revised if new information becomes available. Any substantial changes will be described in the “Updates” section near the end of this post.
- Indictment (PDF)
- Statement of Facts (PDF)