The case that could lead to Trump’s possible arrest centers on a $130,000 payment made in October 2016 to porn actress Stormy Daniels by Donald Trump’s then-personal attorney, Michael Cohen.
Although the Manhattan district attorney’s office has not announced criminal charges against Trump, the former president said, without providing evidence, that he would be arrested on Tuesday, March 21
He also asked his followers to take to the streets to protest to avoid his arrest.
We explain 3 keys to understanding the case:
1. The payment for which Trump’s arrest could happen
Stormy Daniels (real name Stephanie Clifford) claims she had a sexual relationship with Donald Trump in 2006when Trump was already married to Melania Trump, his current wife.
Donald Trump denies having relations with Daniels.
In 2016, during Trump’s first presidential campaign, the National Enquirer portal (a newspaper focused on celebrity gossip) notified Michael Cohen that Daniels intended to go public with the history of the relationship with Trump.
Cohen negotiated with Daniels for a payment of $130,000 in exchange for the actress signing a confidentiality agreement (non-disclosure agreement or NDA, in English) so that he would not speak publicly about the sexual encounter with Trump.
Daniels signed the NDA but later, in 2018, argued that it was invalid because the document did not have Trump’s signature.
told the story publicly of the alleged relationship with Trump.
Trump did not take any legal action against her, asserting in federal court that the NDA was never formalized.
2. The refund
Cohen, who in 2018 pleaded guilty to tax evasion and violations of the laws that govern the financing of electoral campaigns.
He admitted under oath that the payment to Daniels had come out of his pocket, but that he had done so at Trump’s direction.
He had repaid her the $130,000 in addition to paying a bond.
In the investigation against Cohen, prosecutors found that that reimbursement had been made by the Trump Organization and that the company had recorded it in its accounting books under “Legal Expenses”.
The prosecutors argued that since the payment had been made to help the Trump campaign, it had actually been an illegal contribution to the 2016 campaign that had not been reported as required by federal law.
3. The law
In accordance with the law that regulates the financing of campaigns for federal offices:
“Anything of value done by any person for the purpose of influencing any federal election is a contribution”.
The limit established for contributions in 2016 it was $2,700 per election and per candidate.
Cohen, after pleading guilty, was sentenced in December 2018 to 3 years in prison.
Trump, who at the time was the president of the United States, did not face charges.
In March 2023 Cohen and daniels They testified before a New York special jury investigating the $130,000 payment and met with prosecutors in the case.
The former president, who claims to be victim of alleged political persecution by the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragghas said his arrest of Trump is “imminent.”
At the time of writing this note, the Manhattan prosecutor’s office had not announced criminal charges against Trump.
Although the former president said that he would be arrested this Tuesday, March 21.
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