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What criminal charges has Trump faced related to hush money payments?
Executive summary
Donald Trump was indicted in Manhattan in April 2023 on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records tied to reimbursements and invoices connected to a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels that prosecutors say was intended to suppress damaging information before the 2016 election [1] [2]. A New York jury found him guilty on all 34 counts in May 2024, and subsequent appeals have centered on whether presidential-immunity rulings and evidentiary questions require moving or overturning that state conviction [3] [4] [5].
1. What the indictment charged — “falsifying business records,” 34 felony counts
Manhattan prosecutors charged Trump with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, alleging he approved and concealed reimbursement payments characterized as legal invoices that in reality covered hush money paid to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels in 2016 [1] [6]. The indictment described a scheme in which Michael Cohen paid $130,000 to Daniels and was later reimbursed through purported legal fees and monthly payments that prosecutors say were falsified [2] [6].
2. Why prosecutors elevated the counts to felonies — allegation of election-related intent
Prosecutors argued the falsified records were not mere bookkeeping errors but part of an effort to conceal conduct that could influence the 2016 election; by alleging the records were made "with intent to defraud" and to hide another crime, the office treated those records as felonies rather than misdemeanors [7] [8]. Reporting and legal analysis note the theory: individual falsified entries, multiplied across reimbursements and invoices, produced the 34-count indictment [8] [7].
3. Trial outcome and sentence: conviction on all counts, limited sentencing
A Manhattan jury convicted Trump on all 34 counts in May 2024, marking the first felony conviction of a former U.S. president; Judge Juan Merchan later imposed an unconditional discharge that left the conviction on the record but imposed no jail time or fine, according to reporting of his sentencing in January 2025 [3] [5].
4. Appeals and the immunity question: competing legal views
After the conviction, Trump’s lawyers invoked presidential immunity and the U.S. Supreme Court’s July 2024 ruling on immunity for “official acts,” arguing parts of the prosecution and some evidence related to his presidency should have been excluded or that the case belongs in federal court. Appeals courts have given at least one panel reason to reevaluate whether the case should be removed to federal court, sending questions back to lower courts to weigh immunity and evidentiary issues [4] [9] [5].
5. Government and third‑party reappraisals: DOJ and appeals courts have pressed challenges
The U.S. government filed briefs saying the hush-money conviction should be tossed because it relied on improper evidence and a legal theory preempted by federal law, citing the Supreme Court immunity decision and arguing jurors should not have considered allegations of official acts [10]. A federal appeals panel ordered further review of whether immunity issues or evidence of official acts transformed what started as a state prosecution into a matter for federal courts [9] [4].
6. Where sources disagree or raise caveats
News outlets and legal analysts differ on how broadly the immunity ruling should apply: Trump’s lawyers and some appellate panels stress that the Supreme Court decision undercuts the state prosecution’s use of White House-related evidence [9] [4], while trial judges and the Manhattan DA’s office have maintained the payments and reimbursements were private acts outside presidential duties and thus properly charged in state court [11] [12]. Available sources do not mention whether any other state or federal charges tied to different hush payments exist beyond the certified Stormy Daniels-related counts described here (not found in current reporting).
7. Broader context — mechanics, totals, and why this mattered politically
Reporting and legal analysis describe a “Rube Goldberg”-like reimbursement system prosecutors say totaled roughly $420,000 once bonuses and tax gross-ups were included; the central $130,000 payment to Daniels, however, is the clearest single transaction on which allegations focused [8] [13]. Prosecutors and some commentators said the case mattered because it alleged a deliberate concealment designed to affect voters in 2016, while defense and allied voices characterized the prosecution as politically motivated [7] [13].
8. Bottom line for readers — what’s settled and what remains contested
Settled in reporting: Trump was charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records in 2023, was convicted by a jury in May 2024 on those counts, and received a noncustodial sentence that left the conviction intact [1] [3] [5]. Contested in courts and among commentators: whether presidential-immunity precedent and certain evidentiary issues require vacating the conviction or shifting jurisdiction to federal court — matters under active appeal and judicial reconsideration in late 2025 [9] [4] [10].