Donald Trump was discovered responsible in Might on 34 felony counts of falsifying enterprise information after being indicted final 12 months by a Manhattan grand jury, making him the primary former president in American historical past — and now the primary president-elect — to have been convicted of against the law.
Prosecutors alleged that Trump engaged in a “scheme” to spice up his probabilities throughout the 2016 presidential election by a sequence of hush cash funds made by others and the falsification of New York enterprise information to cowl up that alleged felony conduct.
Former President Donald Trump makes remarks on the finish of the day throughout his felony trial at Manhattan Prison Court docket, Might 29, 2024, in New York Metropolis.
Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Pictures
Here’s a timeline of the case, courting again to Trump’s preliminary declaration as a candidate for president:
June 16, 2015
Trump proclaims he’s working for president.
August 2015
Trump meets with David Pecker, then-chairman and CEO of American Media Inc. — which owns the Nationwide Enquirer — at Trump Tower in New York. Pecker agrees to assist with Trump’s marketing campaign by looking for adverse tales about him to “catch and kill,” in keeping with prosecutors’ assertion of info. He additionally agrees to publish adverse tales about Trump’s rivals within the election, in keeping with the assertion of info filed by the Manhattan DA.
October/November 2015
Pecker learns {that a} former Trump Tower doorman was attempting to promote info that Trump allegedly fathered a baby out of wedlock, in keeping with the assertion of info. On the CEO’s route, AMI negotiates and indicators an settlement to pay the doorman $30,000 in change for buying unique rights to the story. AMI allegedly falsely characterised this fee in its common ledger, in keeping with the assertion of info.
AMI purchases the story with out absolutely investigating the doorman’s claims, on the route of Pecker, per his alleged association with Trump, in keeping with the assertion of info. AMI later determines the story was not true and needed to launch the doorman from the settlement, however Lawyer A — a Trump Group lawyer believed to be Michael Cohen — allegedly instructs him not to take action till after the presidential election, in keeping with the assertion of info.
June 2016
The Nationwide Enquirer’s editor-in-chief and chief content material officer contacted Cohen (Lawyer A) a few girl — who’s believed to be Playboy mannequin Karen McDougal — who alleged she had had a sexual relationship with Trump whereas he was married, in keeping with the assertion of info. Cohen (Lawyer A) is up to date by the Nationwide Enquirer about this often over textual content and by cellphone, in keeping with the assertion of info. Trump allegedly didn’t need this info to grow to be public as a result of he was involved what impression it could have on his marketing campaign for president, in keeping with the assertion of info.
AMI finally pays the lady $150,000 in change for her not talking out on the alleged sexual relationship. She would additionally get two journal cowl options and a sequence of articles revealed below her byline, in keeping with the assertion of info.
Prosecutors allege that this deal was made primarily based on the understanding that Trump or the Trump Group would reimburse AMI for the fee, in keeping with the assertion of info.
Trump has denied having the affair.
September 2016
An audio recording allegedly captures a dialog between Trump and Cohen (Lawyer A) as they talk about methods to get hold of the rights to the lady’s story from AMI and reimburse it for the fee, in keeping with the assertion of info.
Cohen (Lawyer A) allegedly tells Trump he’ll open an organization for the switch of the lady’s account and mentioned he had spoken to Trump Group Chief Monetary Officer Allen Weisselberg about setting it up, in keeping with the assertion of info.
A shell firm — referred to as Decision Consultants, LLC — is allegedly arrange on about Sept. 30, 2016. On or about that date, Pecker indicators an settlement transferring the rights of the lady’s account to the shell firm owned by Cohen (Lawyer A) for $125,000, in keeping with courtroom paperwork. However, earlier than the reimbursement was made, Pecker consulted AMI’s common counsel after which advised Cohen (Lawyer A) that the deal was off.
Oct. 7, 2016
Information breaks that Trump was caught on tape in 2005 telling the host of the leisure present “Entry Hollywood,” “I simply begin kissing them [women]. It is like a magnet. Simply kiss. I do not even wait. And when you are a star, they let you do it. You may do something. … Seize ’em by the [genitals]. You are able to do something.”
In line with prosecutors, proof exhibits that each Trump and his marketing campaign employees had been involved the tape would hurt his viability as a candidate and cut back his standing with feminine voters specifically.
In a press release Trump launched after the recording was leaked, he apologized and referred to as his remarks “locker room banter, a personal dialog that happened a few years in the past.”
Oct. 10, 2016
AMI’s editor-in-chief contacts Pecker a few second girl — believed to be grownup movie actress Stormy Daniels — who alleged she had a sexual encounter with Trump whereas he was married, in keeping with the assertion of info. Pecker tells the editor-in-chief to inform Cohen (Lawyer A).
The AMI editor-in-chief connects Cohen (Lawyer A) with the lady’s lawyer. The 2 then negotiate a deal to safe the lady’s silence. The lady could be paid $130,000 for the rights to her story, in keeping with the assertion of info.
Trump allegedly tells Cohen (Lawyer A) to delay making a fee to the second girl for so long as doable, in keeping with prosecutors. If he is ready to delay making the fee till after the election, they may keep away from paying altogether, Trump allegedly says, per prosecutors. Prosectors declare emails and textual content messages between each attorneys and the AMI editor-in-chief present they tried to delay making the fee for so long as doable, in keeping with the assertion of info.
Finally, Trump agrees to the payoff and directs Cohen (Lawyer A) to proceed, prosecutors allege. Trump allegedly doesn’t need to make the fee himself and requested Cohen (Lawyer A) and Weisselberg to discover a method to make the fee, in keeping with the assertion of info. Cohen (Lawyer A) makes the fee after confirming that Trump would pay him again.
Oct. 26, 2016
Shortly after talking with Trump over the cellphone, Cohen (Lawyer A) opens a checking account in Manhattan within the title of a shell firm he had created to effectuate the fee, in keeping with the assertion of info.
Cohen (Lawyer A) then transfers $131,000 from his private house fairness line of credit score into the account, in keeping with courtroom paperwork.
Oct. 27, 2016
Cohen (Lawyer A) transfers $130,000 to a lawyer representing the second girl accusing Trump of getting a sexual encounter together with her whereas he was married to suppress her story, in keeping with courtroom paperwork.
Nov. 8, 2016
Trump wins the presidential election.
AMI then releases the doorman and the primary accuser of their nondisclosure agreements, in keeping with courtroom paperwork.
By Jan. 20, 2017
Prosecutors allege that between Election Day and Inauguration Day, Trump meets privately with Pecker in Trump Tower in Manhattan, thanking him for dealing with the tales of the doorman and the primary girl, in keeping with the assertion of info.
Trump invitations Pecker to the inauguration, in keeping with the assertion of info.
January 2017
Trump arranges to reimburse Cohen (Lawyer A) for the payoff he made on his behalf shortly after being elected president, in keeping with the assertion of info.
Cohen (Lawyer A) meets with Weisselberg to discus how he could be reimbursed, with Weisselberg asking Cohen to convey a duplicate of a financial institution assertion for the shell firm account displaying the $130,000 fee, in keeping with the assertion of info.
Weisselberg and Cohen (Lawyer A) comply with a complete compensation quantity of $420,000. That determine mirrored double the $130,000 fee and $50,000 reimbursement for an additional expense along with a $60,000 year-end bonus — so Cohen (Lawyer A) might characterize the fee as earnings on his tax returns as an alternative of a reimbursement — in keeping with the assertion of info.
Trump, Weisselberg and Cohen (Lawyer A) agree the lawyer could be paid the $420,000 by 12 month-to-month funds of $35,000 over the course of 2017, in keeping with courtroom paperwork. Cohen (Lawyer A) was to ship an bill to the Trump Org every month falsely requesting a fee of $35,000 for authorized companies rendered. Cohen (Lawyer A) doesn’t have a retainer settlement with Trump or the Trump Group, in keeping with prosecutors.
February 2017
Cohen (Lawyer A) meets with Trump within the Oval Workplace to substantiate the compensation association in February 2017, in keeping with the assertion of info.
Feb. 14, 2017
Cohen (Lawyer A) emails the Trump Group the primary month-to-month bill requesting two $35,000 funds for January and February, which had been allegedly accepted by Weisselberg, in keeping with the assertion of info.
All through 2017
Cohen (Lawyer A) submits 10 comparable invoices for the remaining months in 2017, however shouldn’t be on retainer, in keeping with prosecutors. Prosecutors allege the Trump Group falsely recorded every fee as a “authorized expense,” in keeping with the assertion of info.
In line with prosecutors, the primary verify was paid from Trump’s belief and signed by Weisselberg and Trump’s son, as trustees. It was falsely recorded as funds for January and February 2017 authorized companies, in keeping with the assertion of info.
A second verify, for March 2017, was additionally paid from the belief and signed by two trustees, in keeping with the assertion of info.
The remaining 9 checks, for April by December 2017, had been paid by Trump personally, in keeping with the assertion of info. Trump allegedly signed every of the checks personally and had them despatched to the Trump Group in New York. They had been then scanned and maintained in its information system earlier than being indifferent and mailed to Cohen (Lawyer A), in keeping with the assertion of info.
The final $35,000 fee made was for December 2017, in keeping with the assertion of info.
Summer time 2017
Trump invitations Pecker to the White Home for dinner to thank him for his assist throughout the marketing campaign, in keeping with the assertion of info.
April 9, 2018
The FBI executes a search warrant on Cohen’s residences and workplace, in keeping with a press release of info. Prosecutors allege that within the months that adopted, Trump and others engaged in a private and non-private stress marketing campaign to strive to make sure that Cohen didn’t cooperate with regulation enforcement within the federal investigation.
Cohen (Lawyer A) speaks with Trump on the day of the FBI searches, in keeping with prosecutors. Trump allegedly advised him to “keep sturdy,” in keeping with the assertion of info.
April 21, 2018
Trump publicly encourages Cohen to not “flip” in a series of tweets saying, “Most individuals will flip if the Authorities lets them out of bother, even when it means mendacity or making up tales. Sorry, I do not see Michael doing that.”
Mid-April 2018
Cohen (Lawyer A) is approached by an lawyer — Lawyer C — who gives to characterize him within the curiosity of sustaining a “again channel of communication” to Trump, in keeping with the assertion of info.
On April 21, 2018, Lawyer C allegedly emails Cohen (Lawyer A) stating that he has a detailed relationship with Trump’s private lawyer, named as Lawyer D, in keeping with the assertion of info.
June 14, 2018
Lawyer C emails Cohen (Lawyer A) a information clip discussing the opportunity of him cooperating with regulation enforcement, encouraging him to not, in keeping with the assertion of info.
“The entire goal of this train by the [federal prosecutors] is to empty you, emotionally and financially, till you attain some extent that you simply see them as your solely means to salvation,” Lawyer C wrote within the electronic mail, in keeping with the assertion of info.
In the identical electronic mail, Lawyer C wrote, “You’re making a very massive mistake should you consider the tales these ‘journalists’ are writing about you. They need you to cave. They need you to fail. They are not looking for you to persevere and succeed,” in keeping with the assertion of info.
July 2, 2018
In an in-depth interview that airs on “Good Morning America,” his first for the reason that FBI raided his workplace and houses in April, Cohen strongly alerts his willingness to cooperate with particular counsel Robert Mueller and federal prosecutors within the Southern District of New York — even when that places Trump in jeopardy.
“My spouse, my daughter and my son have my first loyalty and at all times will,” Cohen tells ABC Information’ George Stephanopoulos. “I put household and nation first.”
Aug. 21, 2018
Cohen pleads responsible within the federal investigation admitting to his position in AMI’s payoff to McDougal (Girl 1) to affect the election, in keeping with the indictment, and saying in his plea that he had finished so at Trump’s route.
Cohen additionally pleads responsible in connection together with his payoff of Daniels to safe her silence, claiming it was finished at Trump’s route, in keeping with the assertion of info.
Trump feedback on Twitter saying, “If anybody is in search of a superb lawyer, I might strongly counsel that you do not retain the companies of Michael Cohen!”
September 2018
Cohen and AMI admit guilt in reference to the payoffs made to the 2 girls claiming Trump had extramarital relations with them, in keeping with the assertion of info.
AMI entered right into a non-prosecution settlement with the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace for the Southern District of New York in connection to the payoff made to Girl 1, admitting it didn’t intend to publish a narrative at any time throughout the negotiation or acquisition of her story, the follow referred to as “catch and kill,” in keeping with the assertion of info.
Nov. 3, 2020
After a bitter marketing campaign for reelection, Trump goes face to face with Joe Biden on Election Day. 4 days later, it is clear Trump has misplaced after ABC Information tasks Pennsylvania for Biden.
March 2021
Manhattan District Lawyer Cyrus Vance proclaims he is not going to search reelection after 12 years in workplace, with the investigation into Trump nonetheless ongoing. His workplace had begun to look into hush cash funds made to Stormy Daniels in 2018.
Nov. 2, 2021
Alvin Bragg is elected district lawyer in Manhattan. As soon as in workplace, he picks up the investigation into Trump.
Bragg had led the investigation into the Trump Basis in 2017 below then-Lawyer Normal Eric Schneiderman for “in depth illegal political conduct” with the charity’s cash and utilizing it for private issues. The muse was dissolved and Trump was pressured to pay $2 million as a part of a settlement in 2019.
Nov. 4, 2021
Vance convenes a brand new grand jury for six months to listen to proof in opposition to Trump, paving the best way for it to final till after he leaves workplace in January.
The grand jury that was already convened was set to run out. It had voted to convey fees in opposition to the Trump Group and its CFO, Weisselberg, on unrelated issues.
Jan. 1, 2022
Bragg takes workplace as Manhattan’s new district lawyer. Earlier than leaving workplace, Vance doesn’t convey fees in opposition to Trump.
Feb. 22, 2022
The 2 prosecutors main the Trump probe — Assistant District Attorneys Carey Dunne and Mark Pomerantz — resign from the district lawyer’s workplace.
Pomerantz later reveals that he disagreed with Bragg’s resolution to not convey fees in opposition to Trump in Bragg’s early days as DA. Pomerantz was previously a particular prosecutor with the Southern District of New York.
The investigation continues after their resignations however doubt is forged on whether or not fees might be introduced in opposition to Trump.
Aug. 18, 2022
Weisselberg pleads responsible to tax evasion, admitting he prevented taxes on almost $2 million in earnings in a yearslong scheme. He agrees to a plea discount for 5 months in jail and to testify in opposition to the Trump Group on the upcoming trial in October. However, the plea settlement doesn’t require him to testify in opposition to Trump himself.
Dec. 5, 2022
Bragg proclaims he has employed Matthew Colangelo as senior counsel. He was a earlier Division of Justice official and previous to that labored on the New York Lawyer Normal’s Workplace the place he was a part of the crew that investigated the Trump Basis.
Dec. 6, 2022
A jury finds the Trump Group responsible on all counts of tax fraud introduced by the Manhattan district lawyer’s workplace.
Fees included scheme to defraud, conspiracy, felony tax fraud and falsifying enterprise information.
Starting of 2023
A grand jury has been listening to testimony in regards to the hush cash fee to grownup movie actress Stormy Daniels, sources inform ABC Information, together with testimony from Pecker, the longtime Trump confidant. The DA’s workplace additionally has the cooperation of Cohen.
Jan. 18, 2023
In a letter to ebook writer Simon & Schuster, Bragg says he’s involved an upcoming ebook about Trump written by Pomerantz might hurt the district lawyer’s workplace’s investigation. Bragg asks the writer to delay its launch by asking for 60 days to assessment its manuscript.
Pomerantz’s writer says the ebook might be revealed in February as deliberate.
Jan. 30, 2023
Pecker turns into one of many first individuals to testify in entrance of the reconvened grand jury because it investigates hush cash funds to Daniels.
Feb. 7, 2023
Simon & Schuster releases Pomerantz’s ebook, “Individuals vs. Donald Trump: An Inside Account,” wherein he criticizes Bragg, saying Bragg made a mistake by not bringing a case in opposition to Trump initially of his tenure. Pomerantz had been assigned to the case by Vance.
Bragg responds to the criticism, saying the case in opposition to Trump wasn’t prepared.
Feb. 8, 2023
Cohen meets with prosecutors investigating Trump in what’s his fifteenth time assembly with the district lawyer’s workplace, however his first for the reason that grand jury was convened.
March 13, 2023
Cohen once more testifies earlier than the grand jury investigating the hush cash funds.
March 20, 2023
Bob Costello, an lawyer who says he beforehand suggested Cohen, tells reporters his former consumer has a “lie, cheat, steal” mindset after Costello testifies for the protection earlier than the Manhattan grand jury investigating Trump’s position within the hush fee to Daniels.
Costello, a longtime Trump ally, seems earlier than the grand jury as an exculpatory witness after Trump’s authorized crew requested the DA to permit him to testify, in keeping with a letter to prosecutors obtained by ABC Information.
“I am attempting to inform the reality to the grand jury,” Costello tells reporters after testifying. “In the event that they need to go after Donald Trump and so they have strong proof, then so be it. Michael Cohen shouldn’t be strong proof.”
March 27, 2023
Pecker speaks to the grand jury once more for about an hour, in keeping with sources conversant in the matter. The district lawyer’s workplace could have referred to as Pecker to bolster Cohen’s earlier testimony in regards to the objective of the fee.
March 30, 2023
The Manhattan grand jury palms down an indictment in opposition to Trump, making him the primary former or present president to be indicted. The indictment stays below seal so it is not instantly clear what Trump might be charged with, however he negotiates his give up, saying he’ll journey to New York the next week.
April 3, 2023
Trump travels to New York Metropolis from his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida house, sooner or later forward of surrendering to the courtroom. He spends the evening at his house in Trump Tower.
April 4, 2023
Trump travels to the Manhattan courthouse from midtown Manhattan to be processed by authorities earlier than heading to courtroom for his arraignment and the unsealing of the indictment.
Former President Donald Trump seems in courtroom together with his authorized crew for an arraignment on fees stemming from his indictment by a Manhattan grand jury following a probe into hush cash paid to porn star Stormy Daniels, in New York Metropolis, April 4, 2023.
Andrew Kelly/Pool through Reuters
The previous president pleads not responsible to 34 felony fees of falsifying enterprise information stemming from his hush fee to Daniels. Prosecutors allege that he engaged in a “scheme” to spice up his election probabilities throughout the 2016 presidential race by a sequence of hush cash funds made by others to assist his marketing campaign, after which “repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York enterprise information” to hide that felony conduct.
Former President Donald Trump arrives to talk throughout a press convention following his courtroom look over an alleged ‘hush-money’ fee, at his Mar-a-Lago property in Palm Seashore, Fla., on April 4, 2023.
Chandan Khanna/AFP through Getty Pictures
Trump instantly returns to Mar-a-Lago the place he provides a speech to supporters the identical evening criticizing Bragg for bringing fees and including, “We’re a nation in decline, and now these radical left lunatics need to intervene in elections through the use of regulation enforcement. We won’t let that occur.”
April 12, 2023
A threatening letter containing white powder is distributed to Bragg, the second since Trump began posting on social media about his impending indictment. There are not any experiences of accidents or sickness.
Bragg himself has obtained “a number of” dying threats since Trump’s indictment, police sources inform ABC Information.
April 17, 2023
Prosecutors say the decide overseeing the felony case in opposition to Trump ought to ask certainly one of his attorneys for extra details about a possible battle of curiosity.
Trump’s protection crew contains Joe Tacopina, an lawyer Daniels as soon as thought of hiring to characterize her, and the Manhattan district lawyer’s workplace says Tacopina’s representations up to now are inadequate. Trump affirmed at his arraignment he needed to maneuver ahead with Tacopina on his authorized crew, however Susan Hoffinger, the manager assistant district lawyer, mentioned a full listening to could be wanted.
The potential battle was raised by Daniels’ present lawyer, Clark Brewster, who mentioned in a letter to the Manhattan district lawyer’s workplace Daniels had a 2018 dialog with Tacopina and attorneys at his agency.
Tacopina has mentioned he by no means spoke to Daniels and he advised the decide his agency refused to characterize her.
Might 8, 2023
Decide Juan Merchan, the New York Metropolis decide overseeing Trump’s felony case, imposes a protecting order in opposition to Trump that’s meant to make sure proof shared by the DA’s workplace does not wind up on the web.
Prosecutors had sought the protecting order due to what they referred to as Trump’s “in depth historical past” of creating inflammatory remarks about witnesses, prosecutors and others related to authorized issues pending in opposition to him, assistant district lawyer Catherine McCaw mentioned when looking for the order.
Might 24, 2023
Decide Merchan units a trial date of March 25, 2024, for Trump’s felony trial on fees of falsifying enterprise information. He had beforehand indicated that nobody related to the case is allowed to schedule something that might battle with the trial.
The decide additionally evaluations for Trump the phrases of the protecting order that prohibits him from sharing on social media any proof turned over by the Manhattan district lawyer throughout discovery.
June 2, 2023
Attorneys for Trump ask Decide Merchan to step apart, citing the decide’s daughter’s ties to a Democratic group.
The protection says the decide cannot be neutral as a result of his daughter is an govt at Genuine Campaigns, a Democratic consulting agency that labored on President Joe Biden’s 2020 marketing campaign.
Merchan himself will determine whether or not he’s neutral.
June 16, 2023
Trump tries in a brand new courtroom submitting to get his felony prosecution in New York moved to federal courtroom, arguing the alleged crimes “happened whereas the president was in workplace.”
Trump’s attorneys accuse the Manhattan district lawyer’s workplace of “deceptively mischaracterizing and ignoring the relevant info and physique of regulation” by looking for to maintain the case in state courtroom.
June 27, 2023
A federal decide appears disinclined enable Trump to maneuver his felony prosecution in New York into federal courtroom.
“The act for which the president has been indicted doesn’t relate to something below the colour of his workplace,” says Decide Alvin Hellerstein, including that he intends to situation a call within the coming weeks.
July 19, 2023
Federal decide Alvin Hellerstein rejects Trump’s request to maneuver his hush-money felony case into federal courtroom.
“Trump has failed to point out that the conduct charged by the Indictment is for or referring to any act carried out by or for the President below coloration of the official acts of a President,” Hellerstein writes in his ruling.
August 28, 2023
The decide overseeing Trump’s federal election interference case orders the trial in that case to start on March 4, 2024, after talking with Bragg to advise him of the seemingly overlap between the 2 circumstances, each of that are slated to begin that month.
Sept. 12, 2023
Decide Merchan alerts he’s open to transferring the date of the trial, presently scheduled for March 4, because of “the various latest developments involving Mr. Trump.”
Sept. 18, 2023
Decide Merchan guidelines that lawyer Joe Tacopina has no battle representing Trump within the case regardless of prior dealings with Stormy Daniels. Tacopina had been contacted about representing Daniels previous to her selecting since-disgraced lawyer Michael Avenatti.
Oct. 5, 2023
Trump asks a New York decide to dismiss all fees in his hush cash case.
“President Trump can’t be mentioned to have falsified enterprise information of the Trump Group by paying his private lawyer utilizing his private financial institution accounts,” protection lawyer Todd Blanche says within the movement, which calls the case a “discombobulated package deal of politically motivated fees.”
Nov. 14, 2023
Trump drops his effort to maneuver his felony hush cash prosecution from Manhattan courtroom into federal courtroom.
Nov. 16, 2023
Manhattan District Lawyer Alvin Bragg, in a courtroom submitting, opposes Trump’s try and dismiss his felony indictment, saying the previous president is looking for “particular therapy” that he doesn’t deserve.
Jan. 15, 2024
Stormy Daniels is “set to testify” in Trump’s Manhattan hush cash trial set for March 25, the grownup movie actress says on the newest episode of her podcast.
Feb. 15, 2024
Within the case’s remaining listening to earlier than the trial will get underway, Decide Juan Merchan — with Trump in attendance — denies Trump’s movement to dismiss the case and shoots down arguments from the protection that the trial ought to be delayed as a result of it can intervene with Trump’s campaigning for president.
Feb. 26, 2024
DA Alvin Bragg asks a decide to impose a restricted gag order barring Trump from making public statements about witnesses, jurors, courtroom employees and prosecutors apart from Bragg concerned within the case, citing what he calls Trump’s “longstanding and maybe singular historical past” of attacking individuals he considers to be adversaries.
Feb. 29, 2024
Prosecutors plan to make use of Trump’s personal phrases — together with quotes from books like “Trump: The Artwork of the Deal” — in opposition to him in his hush cash trial, in keeping with courtroom filings.
March 4, 2024
Trump’s protection attorneys ask Decide Juan Merchan to disclaim prosecutors’ request for a restricted gag order, arguing the previous president ought to be permitted to totally reply to assaults by his political opponents.
March 5, 2024
The general public launch of the notorious 2005 “Entry Hollywood” tape earlier than the 2016 presidential election “served because the catalyst” for Trump’s hush fee to Stormy Daniels and ought to be admissible at his upcoming trial, prosecutors argue in a courtroom submitting.
March 6, 2024
Trump’s attorneys, in a submitting, accuse Manhattan District Lawyer Alvin Bragg of pursuing a “deluded fantasy” case in opposition to the previous president by tying a hush fee to an try and affect the 2016 presidential election.
March 7, 2024
Decide Merchan agrees with the DA’s request to restrict the disclosure of the names and different figuring out info of jurors within the upcoming trial, discovering “there’s a probability of bribery, jury tampering, or of bodily damage or harassment of juror(s).”
March 11, 2024
Attorneys for Trump ask Decide Merchan to delay the beginning of the trial whereas the U.S. Supreme Court docket weighs Trump’s presidential immunity argument — however the decide pushes again, criticizing the timing of the request and ordering Trump’s crew to hunt permission earlier than making future motions.
March 12, 2024
Attorneys for Trump say in a courtroom submitting that they won’t invoke a proper “recommendation of counsel” protection on the trial, however sign that Trump will argue he didn’t intend to interrupt the regulation “due to his consciousness that varied attorneys had been concerned.”
March 14, 2024
The Manhattan district lawyer’s workplace tells Decide Merchan that it could settle for a 30-day delay to the beginning of the hush cash trial, citing newly disclosed proof from the U.S. lawyer’s workplace in Manhattan.
March 18, 2024
Decide Merchan denies Trump’s makes an attempt to exclude proof associated to the Entry Hollywood tape and testimony from key witnesses from his upcoming felony trial, however guidelines that prosecutors is not going to be permitted to play the notorious tape to jurors.
March 21, 2024
Trump’s request for a prolonged adjournment of his hush cash trial primarily based on just lately disclosed potential proof is “a pink herring” and a part of a “strategic delay,” prosecutors argue in a courtroom submitting.
Stormy Daniels, in the meantime, tells ABC’s “The View” that she is “completely prepared” to testify at trial.
March 25, 2024
Decide Juan Merchan orders the trial to start with jury choice on April 15. The choice rejects a bid by Trump’s attorneys to additional delay the case after the protection raised points with the late manufacturing of over 100,000 pages of potential proof by federal prosecutors.
March 26, 2024
Decide Merchan grants the Manhattan district lawyer’s request for a restricted gag order on the previous president that stops Trump from making public statements about witnesses within the hush cash case, potential jurors, members of the courtroom employees and their households apart from the decide, and attorneys within the case apart from Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg.
The partial gag order follows Trump’s disparaging remarks about witness Michael Cohen, Decide Merchan, and Merchan’s daughter, who works with a gaggle concerned in Democratic politics.
April 1, 2024
Decide Merchan expands his restricted gag order on Trump to cowl the relations of the decide and District Lawyer Alvin Bragg, following a request by prosecutors after Trump continues to focus on Merchan’s daughter on social media.
The event comes as sources inform ABC Information that Trump’s former spokesperson Hope Hicks is anticipated to testify for the prosecution on the upcoming trial.
April 2, 2024
Trump’s attorneys once more ask Decide Merchan to recuse himself from the trial, seven months after the decide declined the same request by protection attorneys.
April 3, 2024
Decide Merchan guidelines that Trump shouldn’t be immune from prosecution within the case on the grounds of presidential immunity, partly as a result of Trump did not invoke the protection in a well timed trend.
The ruling comes on the identical day the Manhattan DA’s workplace urges the decide to reject Trump’s try and delay the upcoming trial as a result of great amount of pretrial publicity.
April 5, 2024
Decide Merchan quashes a subpoena issued to NBCUniversal by protection attorneys that had sought supplies associated to their documentary about Stormy Daniels, calling the request the “very definition of a fishing expedition.”
April 8, 2024
Decide Lizbeth Gonzalez of Appellate Division First Division denies Trump’s try and delay the upcoming trial on the grounds that pretrial publicity has made it unattainable to discover a truthful and neutral jury.
The event comes on the identical day that Decide Merchan releases the questionnaire he plans to make use of to supervise jury choice for the trial. ABC Information, in the meantime, experiences that prosecutors on the upcoming trial are anticipated to name a number of witnesses who’re or had been a part of Trump’s internal circle.
April 9, 2024
Appellate Decide Cynthia Kern declines Trump’s request to delay the upcoming trial whereas ready for the total panel of the Appellate Division First Division to weigh, later this month, whether or not to chill out Trump’s restricted gag order.
April 10, 2024
Appellate Decide Ellen Gesmer declines Trump’s request to delay the upcoming trial whereas ready for the total panel of the Appellate Division First Division to weigh, later this month, Trump’s problem to a ruling by Decide Merchan barring the protection from elevating objections to proof primarily based on presidential immunity, in addition to the decide’s refusal to recuse himself from the case.
Trump’s attorneys, within the meantime, have subpoenaed the unsuitable Jeremy Rosenberg, in keeping with courtroom filings.
April 12, 2024
Three days earlier than the scheduled begin of the trial, Decide Merchan denies Trump’s request to adjourn the case because of overwhelming pretrial publicity.
April 15, 2024
The primary felony trial involving a former U.S. president will get underway in New York with the beginning of Donald Trump’s hush cash trial. The previous president sits by roughly six hours of courtroom proceedings as the method of seating a 12-person jury begins.
Former President Donald Trump seems together with his authorized crew Todd Blanche, and Emil Bove forward of the beginning of jury choice at Manhattan Prison Court docket, Apr. 15, 2024, in New York Metropolis.
Jabin Botsford-Pool/Getty Pictures
April 16, 2024
On Day 2 of the trial, the primary seven jurors are chosen for the 12-person jury that might be supplemented with six alternates. Among the many seven are an oncology nurse, an lawyer, a instructor and an IT advisor.
April 17, 2024
The remaining 5 jurors — 5 males and 7 girls — are chosen for the 12-person jury on Day 3 of the trial, after a brief setback leads to the dismissal of two jurors who had been beforehand seated.
April 19, 2024
A full jury of 12 jurors and 6 alternates is seated in Day 4 of the trial. The alternate jurors are 5 girls and one man.
April 22, 2024
Attorneys ship opening statements in Day 5 of the trial, with prosecutors framing the case as “election fraud, pure and easy” and the protection looking for to distance Trump from any alleged wrongdoing.
April 23, 2024
Former Nationwide Enquirer writer David Pecker, testifying on Day 6 of the trial, describes intimately the “catch-and-kill” association he struck with Trump and his then-attorney Michael Cohen throughout the 2016 presidential marketing campaign.
April 25, 2024
Former Nationwide Enquirer writer David Pecker testifies about then-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen’s fee to Stormy Daniels earlier than being cross-examined on Day 7 of the trial.
April 26, 2024
Jurors on Day 8 of the trial hear testimony from witnesses together with Trump’s longtime Trump Group assistant, Ronna Graff, who says she has a “imprecise recollection” of recognizing Stormy Daniels in Trump Tower.
April 29, 2024
ABC Information experiences that former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, as he waits to testify within the trial, has been discussing the trial proceedings and attacking Trump in a sequence of TikTok livestreams that some specialists say might damage Cohen within the courtroom.
April 30, 2024
Lawyer Keith Davidson, who represented each Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, testifies on Day 9 of the trial how he brokered a pair of offers to maintain their alleged affairs with Trump out of print.
Might 2, 2024
Attorneys for Trump, on Day 10 of the trial, try to border lawyer Keith Davidson, who represented each Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, as an unsavory determine who made a profession of extorting rich celebrities for shady purchasers.
Might 3, 2024
Hope Hicks, certainly one of Trump’s closest former advisers, testifies on Day 11 of the trial in regards to the “frantic” hours after his 2016 marketing campaign discovered in regards to the existence and imminent launch of the notorious “Entry Hollywood” tape.
Might 6, 2024
Two longtime staff of the Trump Group testify on Day 12 of the trial about their position in executing a string of funds to then-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen in 2017.
Might 7, 2024
Head to head with Donald Trump for the primary time in additional than a decade, Stormy Daniels, taking the stand on Day 13 of the trial, provides a graphic description of the alleged 2006 sexual encounter with Trump that he sought to bury forward of the 2016 presidential election for worry of it torpedoing his marketing campaign.
Attorneys for Trump, who denies the encounter happened, subsequently transfer for a mistrial on the grounds that Daniels’ specific testimony was “terribly prejudicial,” however Decide Merchan denies the movement, saying the suitable treatment shouldn’t be a mistrial, however the protection’s cross-examination.
Might 8, 2024
Trump’s protection crew asks an intermediate appeals courtroom to fast-track his enchantment difficult the constitutionality of the restricted gag order in his hush cash case.
Might 9, 2024
Beneath a heated cross-examination, Stormy Daniels spars with protection attorneys as she denies allegations that she made up her story of a 2006 sexual encounter with Trump with the intention to enrich herself, telling jurors on Day 14 of the trial that her interplay with Trump and subsequent notoriety had a “adverse” impression on her life.
Jurors additionally hear testimony from former Trump White Home aide Madeleine Westerhout, who testifies about how Trump, whereas president, signed Michael Cohen’s reimbursement checks.
Might 10, 2024
Former White Home aide Madeline Westerhout, on Day 15 of the trial, testifies that Donald Trump “was very upset” with a 2018 Wall Road Journal story that reported on the hush-money fee to Daniels, saying that “my understanding is he knew it could be hurtful to his household.”
Might 13, 2024
Showing calm and composed on the stand, star witness Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer on the coronary heart of the hush cash case, testifies on Day 16 of the trial that Trump directed him to “simply maintain” a fee to silence Stormy Daniels within the waning days of his 2016 presidential marketing campaign, and that Trump accepted the ultimate $130,000 deal and signed off on the reimbursement plan.
Cohen testifies that the only real objective of the scheme was to guard Trump’s political fortunes and obscure his position in orchestrating the preparations.
Might 14, 2024
In a combative begin to former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen’s cross-examination, Trump’s protection crew, on Day 17 of the trial, questions Cohen’s motivation for testifying in opposition to Trump, highlighting Cohen’s TikTok streams attacking the previous president, in distinction to his previous reward and admiration for Trump.
Might 16, 2024
Trump’s protection crew undertakes an aggressive bid to undermine former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen’s credibility, trying to border Cohen as a prolific liar with a bone to choose in opposition to his former boss on Day 18 of the trial.
Might 20, 2024
After the protection concludes its cross-examination of former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, the prosecution rests its case on Day 19 of the trial. For the protection’s second witness, Trump’s attorneys name Cohen’s one-time authorized adviser Robert Costello, who earns sharp rebuke from Decide Merchan for allegedly violating his “courtroom decorum.”
Might 21, 2024
After Michael Cohen’s one-time authorized adviser Robert Costello completes his testimony, the protection rests on Day 20 of the trial — with out Trump taking the stand in his personal protection. The events then hash out the directions that might be given to the jury following summations.
Might 28, 2024
Calling former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen an “MVP of liars,” Trump’s attorneys argue of their prolonged closing assertion that Trump ought to be acquitted of all fees as a result of prosecutors offered “completely no proof of an intent to defraud” and since the previous president had “completely no intent to unlawfully affect the 2016 election.”
In their very own marathon closing, prosecutors inform the jury that Trump selected Cohen as his “fixer” as a result of Cohen was “keen to lie and cheat,” and that the state has offered a “mountain of proof” demonstrating that Trump was concerned in a “conspiracy to deprave the 2016 election and a coverup to cover that conspiracy.”
Might 29, 2024
Of their first day of deliberations, the jury requests a readback of 4 items testimony from the trial: three from former Nationwide Enquirer writer David Pecker and one from former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.
Might 30, 2024
On the finish of their second day of deliberations, the jury finds former President Trump responsible on all 34 counts in his hush cash trial, marking the primary time in historical past {that a} former U.S. president has been convicted on felony fees. Decide Juan Merchan units Trump’s sentencing for July 11.
“This was a rigged, disgraceful trial,” the previous president tells reporters exterior the courtroom. “I am a really harmless man.”
Might 31, 2024
President Joe Biden, responding to Trump’s conviction, says, “The American precept that nobody is above the regulation was reaffirmed. Donald Trump was given each alternative to defend himself.”
“That is how the American system of justice works, and it is reckless, it is harmful, it is irresponsible for anybody to say this was rigged simply because they do not like verdict,” Biden says.
June 2, 2024
Trump’s authorized crew says the previous president will enchantment his hush cash conviction, however within the meantime he’ll adjust to the courtroom’s normal pre-sentencing investigation.
June 4, 2024
As he awaits sentencing, former President Trump asks Decide Merchan to elevate the restricted gag order that stops him from talking about witnesses, jurors and others related to the case.
June 5, 2024
Sources say the NYPD might be revoking former President Trump’s gun allow following his felony hush cash conviction.
June 10, 2024
Former President Trump is interviewed by New York Metropolis probation officers as a part of the routine pre-sentencing investigation, in keeping with sources.
The New Jersey lawyer common’s Division of Alcoholic Beverage Management, in the meantime, says it’s reviewing the state liquor licenses held by Trump’s golf programs following his felony conviction.
June 10, 2024
A high Justice Division official informs Home Republicans in a letter that an intensive search of DOJ information has uncovered no contacts between senior DOJ officers and Manhattan District Lawyer Alvin Bragg’s workplace referring to their state prosecution of former President Trump.
June 12, 2024
Trump’s attorneys proceed their push to terminate the restricted gag order within the case, arguing that Trump’s “political opponents” — together with President Biden, Robert DeNiro, Michael Cohen, and Stormy Daniels — are utilizing the gag order as a “sword” to assault the previous president.
June 18, 2024
The New York Court docket of Appeals declines to take up Trump’s problem to the restricted gag order imposed on him by Decide Merchan, saying their rejection is “upon the bottom that no substantial constitutional query is instantly concerned.”
June 25, 2024
Decide Merchan agrees to partially elevate Trump’s restricted gag order, granting him the flexibility to talk freely in regards to the jury and witnesses within the case.
July 1, 2024
In a blockbuster resolution in Trump’s federal election interference case, the U.S. Supreme Court docket guidelines that the previous president is entitled to presumptive immunity from felony prosecution for official acts taken whereas in workplace, prompting Trump’s attorneys to ask Decide Merchan to throw out his hush cash conviction on the grounds that the jury noticed proof that ought to have been protected by presidential immunity.
July 2, 2024
Decide Merchan postpones Trump’s July 11 sentencing to Sept. 18 so he can think about Trump’s request to toss his conviction primarily based on the Supreme Court docket’s immunity ruling.
The decide provides Trump’s attorneys till July 10 to submit papers and the DA’s workplace till July 24 to reply, and says he’ll rule on Trump’s movement to put aside his conviction on Sept. 6.
July 11, 2024
In a 52-page submitting, Trump asks Decide Merchan to vacate his hush cash conviction on the grounds that the trial was “tainted” by proof and testimony that the Supreme Court docket’s landmark ruling on presidential immunity now makes off-limits.
July 25, 2024
In a courtroom submitting, Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg asks Decide Merchan to reject Trump’s try and have his conviction thrown out primarily based on the Supreme Court docket’s immunity ruling, arguing that “the proof that he claims is affected by the Supreme Court docket’s ruling constitutes solely a sliver of the mountains of testimony and documentary proof that the jury thought of to find him responsible.”
Aug. 1, 2024
In a courtroom submitting, Trump revives his longshot effort to have Decide Merchan recused from the case due to an alleged battle of curiosity involving the decide’s daughter and Vice President Kamala Harris. The submitting comes on the identical day {that a} New York appeals courtroom denies Trump’s effort have his restricted gag order thrown out.
Aug. 2, 2024
In a courtroom submitting, Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg urges Decide Merchan to disclaim Trump’s third try and have Merchan recused from the case.
Aug. 5, 2024
The U.S. Supreme Court docket rejects an try by the Republican lawyer common of Missouri to delay Trump’s sentencing within the case.
Aug. 14, 2024
Decide Merchan denies Trump’s third try and kick him off the case primarily based on an alleged battle of curiosity.
Aug. 15, 2024
Trump’s attorneys ask Decide Merchan to push again the case’s Sept. 18 sentencing date to past the November election, with the intention to fight what they name prosecutors’ “bare election-interference aims.”
Aug. 19, 2024
Attorneys within the Manhattan DA’s workplace say in a letter to Decide Merchan that they may defer to the decide relating to Trump’s request to delay sentencing within the trial.
Aug. 29, 2024
Trump’s attorneys, looking for to delay his sentencing, once more ask a federal courtroom in New York to take away the case from state courtroom in gentle of the Supreme Court docket’s ruling on presidential immunity.
Aug. 30, 2024
A day after Trump asks a federal courtroom to take away his hush cash case from state courtroom, the newest effort to delay his upcoming sentencing hits a snag when the courtroom rejects his submitting as “poor.”
Sept. 3, 2024
U.S. District Decide Alvin Hellerstein denies Trump’s try to maneuver his New York hush cash case from state courtroom into federal courtroom in gentle of the Supreme Court docket’s presidential immunity ruling.
Sept. 5, 2024
Decide Juan Merchan says he’ll determine on Friday whether or not to delay Trump’s Sept. 18 sentencing. The event comes a day after Trump’s attorneys ask the U.S. Court docket of Appeals for the Second Circuit to remain Decide Hellerstein’s order denying Trump’s request to maneuver the hush cash case into federal courtroom.
Sept. 6, 2024
Decide Merchan delays Trump’s sentencing from Sept. 18 till Nov. 26, after the presidential election, and says he’ll now rule on Trump’s movement to put aside the decision on Nov. 12.
The decide says he made the choice “to keep away from any look — nevertheless unwarranted — that the continuing has been affected by or seeks to have an effect on the approaching Presidential election.”
Sept. 9, 2024
Trump’s attorneys ask the total U.S. Court docket of Appeals for the Second Circuit to delay his hush cash case “with the intention to protect Trump’s proper to a good and orderly litigation of the Presidential immunity protection in a federal discussion board.”
Sept. 12, 2024
The U.S. Second Circuit Court docket of Appeals denies Trump’s request to delay the case, on the identical day that New York’s Court docket of Appeals declines to think about Trump’s request to elevate the remaining components of the case’s restricted gag order.
Oct. 15, 2024
Trump, in a submitting, once more asks the U.S. Second Circuit Court docket of Appeals to switch his New York felony hush cash case to federal courtroom in an effort to stall his Nov. 26 sentencing or throw out his conviction altogether.
Nov. 6, 2024
Donald Trump is reelected president of the US over Kamala Harris, elevating questions on how and whether or not Decide Merchan will proceed with Trump’s scheduled sentencing later within the month.
Nov. 12, 2024
Decide Merchan, on the day he’s scheduled to rule on Trump’s movement to put aside his conviction primarily based on the U.S. Supreme Court docket’s latest resolution on presidential immunity, as an alternative agrees to delay the choice after each side request extra time to think about methods to proceed following Trump’s election victory. The decide provides prosecutors till Nov. 19 to advocate subsequent steps.
Nov. 19, 2024
After Trump’s attorneys argue in a submitting that the case ought to be dismissed as a result of a sitting president is immune from prosecution, prosecutors inform Decide Merchan that they oppose any effort to dismiss Trump’s conviction — however that they don’t object to pausing the case till Trump is out of workplace.
Nov. 20, 2024
In a letter to the courtroom, Trump’s attorneys argue that Trump’s conviction have to be tossed because of presidential immunity, and ask Decide Merchan for permission to file a movement to dismiss the case.
Nov. 22, 2024
Decide Merchan indefinitely postpones Trump’s Nov. 26 sentencing date and provides the protection till Dec. 2 to file a movement to dismiss the case.
Dec. 3, 2024
Trump’s attorneys file a movement to dismiss the case on the grounds that prosecution disrupts the president-elect’s transition and “threatens the functioning of the federal authorities.” The Manhattan DA’s workplace faces a Dec. 9 deadline to answer Trump’s movement.
Dec. 10, 2024
Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, in a courtroom submitting responding to Trump’s bid to dismiss the case, suggests to Decide Merchan that Trump might obtain a non-incarceratory sentence — or his sentencing might be delayed till he leaves workplace — in lieu of his conviction being dismissed completely.
