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Trump is facing 34 charges related to hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.
WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump was arraigned on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in a Manhattan courtroom Tuesday, an unprecedented court hearing for a former commander in chief.
Trump pleaded not guilty to all of the charges, and his lawyers say they intend to file a motion seeking to dismiss the case outright before it can go to trial.
The investigation is scrutinizing six-figure payments made to porn actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Both say they had sexual encounters with the married Trump years before he got into politics. Trump denies having sexual liaisons with either woman and has denied any wrongdoing involving payments.
Felony charges vs. misdemeanors
All 34 charges against Trump were for falsifying business records in the first degree. A first-degree count of falsifying business records is considered a felony, and is considered more serious than a second-degree charge, which is a misdemeanor.
Felonies are more serious charges than misdemeanors, and typically have much higher punishments during sentencing. Felony sentences generally include at least a year of prison time, although it's unclear if Trump would serve time in jail if convicted.
Charges of felony business record fraud can carry a sentence of up to four years in prison upon conviction, according to the website of New York attorney Jeremy Saland, who is unrelated to the Trump case.
Even if Trump is convicted on any of the charges, it doesn't affect his eligibility for the presidency in 2024. A person can run for or serve as president if they meet the qualifications outlined in the Constitution, according to fact-checkers at VERIFY.
Article Two of the Constitution lists only three qualifications for the presidency:
- The candidate must be at least 35 years of age
- The candidate must be a natural born citizen
- The candidate must have lived in the United States for at least 14 years.
There is no mention of criminal charges of any kind as disqualifying someone from running for or serving as president in the Constitution.
What's the case against Trump?
We still haven't seen the indictment laying out the charges against Trump, because it has yet to be unsealed.
When it is, analysts believe it will be a "speaking indictment," meaning that prosecutors will use it to lay out the theory of their case against the defendant.
Many indictments are essentially a list of charges, without any details about the alleged crimes included. But a speaking indictment — an unofficial term often used in court reporting — allows prosecutors to explain how they determined each charge and what evidence they have to support them.
The indictment itself is expected to be unsealed sometime shortly after the arraignment hearing concludes.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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