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Donald Trump, the former President of the United States, was charged on Apr. 4 (local time) with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in a case linked to hush-money payments to two women, Reuters reported.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges and denied all wrongdoings.

The two women involved in the case were adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal.

Alleged violation of election law

Trump, 76, was accused by prosecutors in Manhattan, New York City, of violating the integrity of his 2016 election campaign.

“The defendant, Donald J. Trump, falsified New York business records in order to conceal an illegal conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the 2016 presidential election,” said Chris Conroy, one of the prosecutors, as quoted by the New York Times.

In many judicial systems, including that of the U.S., a felony is considered a crime of high severity.

Falsifying business records can be charged as a misdemeanour, but will be elevated to a felony punishable by up to four years if done to hide or gain ground on another criminal act, such as the violation of election law, according to Reuters.

Why was he charged?

Trump's indictment is unprecedented as it was the first time that a former U.S. president has faced criminal charges, according to CNN. The only other similar incident occurred 150 years ago when Ulysses Grant, president at the time, was arrested for speeding in a horse carriage.

Trump's indictment centred around his alleged attempt to silence his extramarital relationship with Daniels, 44, while he was running for president in 2016, according to the Washington Post.

The case stemmed from the investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg into the hush-money payments made to women claiming they had extramarital encounters with Trump (which he denied).

It involved a payment of US$130,000 (S$172,300) made to Daniels by Trump’s then-lawyer Michael Cohen.

The attorney served a three-year prison sentence from December 2018 after pleading guilty to campaign finance charges, lying to Congress, and others for his role in the Stormy Daniels case.

What does the indictment include?

A statement of facts released by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office accused Trump of having “orchestrated a scheme with others to influence the 2016 presidential election”.

It noted that Cohen supposedly came to an agreement with Trump and the Chief Financial Officer of Trump Organisation Allen Weisselberg that he would receive US$420,000 (S$557,000) as reimbursement, Washington Post reported.

This amount was allegedly documented on a bank statement and was approved by Trump when he met Cohen in an Oval Office meeting. The money was subsequently repaid to Cohen on a monthly basis and was purportedly recorded by the Trump Organisation.

The 34 counts of falsifying business records were hence accumulated from this series of payments.

Despite the apparent lack of a proper retainer agreement, the payments were recorded on the cheque as legal expenses and retainer payment for Cohen, New York Times reported.

11 counts involved the cheques, 11 were related to monthly invoices submitted by Cohen to Trump Organisation, while the remaining 12 were general ledger entries for Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust.

All entries were made in 2017, according to the indictment.

You can read the full indictment here.

Who’s the other woman?

McDougal, 52, was the other woman involved in the case, though the indictment was focused on Daniels.

In the run-up to the 2016 U.S. presidential elections, the ex-Playboy model was offered a deal of US$150,000 (S$199,000) by American tabloid newspaper National Enquirer to publish an exclusive story of her affair with Trump, BBC reported.

This deal made her keep the alleged affair a secret, but the story was never published.

McDougal then claimed that she was deceived into keeping quiet about the extramarital relationship.

What now?

The ex-president could face trial in early 2024, coinciding with his bid to run for U.S. president a second time, The Guardian reported.

He is also facing criminal investigations for the U.S. Capitol storming in January 2021, his retention of classified documents, attempts to reverse his loss in the 2020 Georgia elections, civil inquiries into his business as well as a defamation suit.

Ahead of Trump’s arraignment, New York City Police had beefed up security to prepare for potential unrest, CBS News reported.

In a speech after leaving the courthouse, Trump aired his grievances against his rivals, prosecutors and investigators.

Describing the indictment as an election interference, Trump said that he had "never thought anything like this could happen in America," according to Reuters.

"The only crime that I've committed has been to fearlessly defend our nation against those who seek to destroy it,” he was quoted as saying.

The Guardian noted that some media outlets refused to broadcast his remarks. Trump will appear in court for his next hearing on Dec. 4, 2023.

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Top image via Getty Images/Seth Wenig-Pool