{"slug":"mike-cohen-payment-campaign-finance-felony","title":"Stormy Daniels Hush Money: Campaign Finance Felony and Directed Fraud","date":"2016-10-27","lastUpdated":"2024-05-30","description":"In the weeks before the 2016 election, Trump directed his attorney Michael Cohen to pay porn actress Stormy Daniels $130,000 for her silence about an alleged sexual encounter. Trump reimbursed Cohen through falsified business records disguised as legal payments. Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to campaign finance violations and other crimes, identifying Trump as directing the scheme. In 2024, a Manhattan jury convicted Trump on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records — making him the first U.S. president convicted of felony crimes.","summary":"The $130,000 payment to Daniels was made by Cohen 11 days before the 2016 election to prevent her account from influencing voters. Trump reimbursed Cohen through Trump Organization checks falsely described as payments for legal services. The Manhattan DA's office prosecuted Trump for the falsification of business records; a jury of 12 New Yorkers convicted Trump on all 34 counts on May 30, 2024. Trump was the first sitting or former U.S. president convicted of criminal offenses.","category":"corruption","severity":"critical","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/30/nyregion/trump-verdict-guilty-hush-money-trial.html","title":"Trump Convicted on All 34 Counts in New York Hush Money Trial","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/08/21/michael-cohen-plea-deal-campaign-finance-fraud/","title":"Michael Cohen pleads guilty, implicates Trump in campaign finance scheme","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://apnews.com/article/trump-verdict-hush-money-new-york-jury-guilty-82cf5f029e9c23c4a1f01d5b9d25e3e2","title":"Trump convicted on all 34 felony counts — first U.S. president found guilty of crimes","publisher":"The Associated Press"},{"url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nyed.461060/gov.uscourts.nyed.461060.1.0.pdf","title":"Michael Cohen plea agreement and allocution","publisher":"U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["Stormy-Daniels","hush-money","campaign-finance","felony-conviction","pre-presidency","Cohen","falsified-records"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"2006-07-01","title":"Alleged encounter at golf tournament","summary":"Stormy Daniels later alleges she had a sexual encounter with Trump at a golf tournament in Nevada in July 2006, shortly after his wife Melania had given birth to their son Barron. Trump denies the encounter."},{"date":"2016-10-27","title":"Cohen pays Daniels $130,000","summary":"Cohen wires $130,000 to a bank account controlled by Daniels's attorney in exchange for a non-disclosure agreement. The payment is made 11 days before the presidential election, timed to prevent Daniels from publicly discussing her account."},{"date":"2017-01-01","title":"Trump Organization begins repaying Cohen","summary":"Through 2017, Trump and the Trump Organization repay Cohen through checks falsified as payments for a non-existent legal retainer. Some checks are signed personally by Trump; others by his son Donald Trump Jr. and CFO Allen Weisselberg."},{"date":"2018-08-21","title":"Cohen pleads guilty; implicates Trump","summary":"Cohen pleads guilty to eight federal charges including two campaign finance violations, stating in open court that he made the Daniels payment 'in coordination with and at the direction of' a candidate for federal office — explicitly implicating Trump."},{"date":"2023-03-30","title":"Trump indicted by Manhattan grand jury","summary":"A Manhattan grand jury indicts Trump on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree — covering the repayments to Cohen through falsified legal payment records. Trump becomes the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges."},{"date":"2024-05-30","title":"Jury convicts Trump on all 34 counts","summary":"After a six-week trial, a Manhattan jury deliberates for two days and returns guilty verdicts on all 34 felony counts. Trump becomes the first U.S. president, sitting or former, to be convicted of criminal offenses."},{"date":"2024-07-11","title":"Trump sentenced to unconditional discharge","summary":"Judge Juan Merchan sentences Trump to an unconditional discharge — no prison time, no probation, no fine — citing Trump's age, status as a former president, and pending electoral process. The conviction stands."}],"location":{"name":"New York, NY","lat":40.7128,"lng":-74.006},"custom":{"era":"pre-presidency","posture":"judicial-finding","warCrimeClassification":"enabling","internationalLaw":[],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"American voters who cast ballots in the 2016 election while information was deliberately suppressed; the integrity of democratic elections; Stormy Daniels (subjected to campaign of harassment and defamation after the payment became public)","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"Presidential candidate (2016); convicted defendant","institution":"Trump campaign / Trump Organization"},{"name":"Michael Cohen","role":"Trump's personal attorney; made the payment; pleaded guilty","institution":"Trump Organization"},{"name":"Allen Weisselberg","role":"Trump Organization CFO; helped structure the reimbursements","institution":"Trump Organization"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2024-07-11","summary":"Updated with sentencing to unconditional discharge."}]}}