What are the specific statutes and legal elements underlying each of the 34 felony counts against Donald Trump?
Executive summary
The 34 felony counts against Donald Trump arise from a Manhattan indictment charging him with 34 separate counts of first‑degree falsifying business records under New York law; each count corresponded to a distinct business record tied to payments related to Stormy Daniels, and a jury convicted him on all counts in May 2024 [1]. Reporting shows those counts were characterized as Class E felonies connected to alleged efforts to conceal a $130,000 payment and related bookkeeping entries [2] [1].
1. What the indictment officially charged — one statute, 34 acts
Manhattan prosecutors charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, citing New York Penal Law §175.10 as the governing offense; the indictment mapped each count to an individual business document dated between February and December 2017 [1]. Contemporary summaries and trial reporting describe each criminal count as tied to a specific allegedly altered or false corporate record reflecting reimbursements or bookkeeping entries linked to the hush‑money transaction [2] [1].
2. Legal elements the prosecution had to prove
Available reportage explains that first‑degree falsifying business records (the offense charged) requires proof that the defendant knowingly made or caused a false entry in a business record, with the intent to defraud, and that the falsification was done to conceal another crime or to aid its commission — elements that escalate falsifying business records from a misdemeanor to a felony under §175.10 [1]. News accounts and trial coverage framed prosecutors’ argument as showing intentional bookkeeping changes designed to disguise a payment as a legitimate business expense, rather than a personal payment, to influence the 2016 election [2] [1].
3. How prosecutors tied specific documents to each count
Reporting indicates prosecutors charged a separate count for each allegedly false company document or reimbursement record, with dates noted in the indictment; jurors were asked to assess whether each discrete entry was false and made with criminal intent [1]. Coverage of the trial describes jurors evaluating more than 30 individual pieces of business paperwork and testimony about who authorized or recorded those entries [2] [1].
4. The classification and practical consequences under state law
Each count was treated as a Class E felony under New York law, a lower‑level felony category that, among other procedural effects, determines pretrial peremptory challenges and sentencing ranges; reporting noted Trump was convicted on all 34 counts but later received an unconditional discharge at sentencing [1] [2]. News outlets emphasized that an unconditional discharge left Trump a convicted felon on the record while imposing no jail time, fines, or probation in that particular sentence [2] [3].
5. Defense arguments and competing legal views
Trump’s defense contested the criminality of the records alterations and pushed constitutional and evidentiary arguments during appeals and related filings; subsequent appeals invoked Supreme Court immunity rulings and urged review of whether evidence of official acts was properly admitted [4]. Sources show Trump’s legal team sought to move aspects of the state case into federal court and later pursued appellate relief, arguing errors in admitting certain evidence and claiming broader immunity effects [5] [4].
6. What the sources do not provide (limits of current reporting)
Available sources do not publish the full text of the original indictment or the charging instrument within these search results, so this summary relies on secondary reporting of the statutory citation and count descriptions rather than quoting the indictment itself (not found in current reporting). Detailed line‑by‑line statutory citations beyond the general reference to falsifying business records (New York Penal Law §175.10 as reported) and the precise mens rea language used in the charging documents are not reproduced in these articles (not found in current reporting).
7. Procedural developments and context that affect the counts
Post‑conviction procedural moves — appeals, federal immunity questions, and judicial reconsideration — have been prominent: appellate panels reviewed whether Supreme Court immunity precedent required reexamination of the New York case, and Trump has appealed the conviction citing those rulings [5] [4]. Reporting also places the New York case in the broader context that Trump faced multiple separate criminal matters across jurisdictions between 2023–2025, but the 34 New York counts specifically refer to falsifying business records tied to the hush‑money payments [6] [7].
Overall, the reporting available to this briefing consistently identifies the legal basis as 34 counts of first‑degree falsifying business records under New York law, each count corresponding to an alleged false business record related to the hush‑money payment; the news coverage details the prosecution’s theory, the jury’s unanimous guilty verdict, and subsequent sentencing and appellate moves [1] [2] [5] [4].