Former President Donald Trump will be facing at least one felony charge in his Manhattan case, the Associated Press reported moments ago.
While Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has yet to formally release a list of the charges against Trump, it is believed charges stemming from allegedly falsifying records will be raised from misdemeanors to felony levels.
The charges come related to allegations the former president paid Michael Cohen $130,000 in “hush money” to send to Stormy Daniels, an adult film actress who Trump allegedly had an affair with.
Trump allegedly recorded the “hush money” payments as “legal fees,” which would be falsifying bookkeeping.
Bragg may build upon this charge and contest it was a foundation for other crimes, including election interference claims. Bragg could attempt to argue the payments to Cohen would equate to illegal campaign donations to Trump’s 2016 campaign through his Trump organization.
The alleged payoff to Daniels would then benefit Trump’s campaign since voters would not be as privy to the alleged affair.
The former president is expected to appear in court on Tuesday, April 4th. “Trump will not be handcuffed when he surrenders. The unusual event will mark the first instance of a former US commander-in-chief being arrested and brought to court,” Trending Politics previously reported.
The Guardian reported Trump has demanded he appears in person, not virtually. “Trump’s increasing insistence that he wants to be handcuffed behind his back for a perp walk appears to come from various motivations, including that he wants to project defiance in the face of what he sees as an unfair prosecution and that it would galvanize his base for his 2024 presidential campaign.”
