Fact check: What are the current charges against Donald Trump in the Manhattan case?

1. How the indictment is framed: criminal charges that matter in daily reporting

The most direct public description from the supplied material states that the Manhattan case resulted in a 34‑count indictment accusing Donald Trump of falsifying business records; the Manhattan DA framed the charges as historic and intended to enforce equality before the law. That April 2023 report presents the counts as felonies tied to business‑record manipulation rather than novel federal crimes, and places emphasis on the DA’s prosecutorial rationale and the formal arraignment where a not‑guilty plea was entered ^[1]. This framing is the clearest summary of what the case alleges.

2. What the underlying allegations involve: hush‑money and business records

Reporting situates the charges in payments to women—commonly described as “hush money”—and alleges that business records were manipulated to conceal those payments. Earlier investigative accounts and contemporaneous summaries link the indictment directly to transactions intended to influence the 2016 election cycle and to the company accounting that allegedly disguised those expenditures. The supplied analyses repeatedly connect the criminal counts to the hush‑money scheme and to falsified entries in corporate or campaign‑adjacent accounting, establishing the factual core of the Manhattan prosecution ^{[2] [4]}.

3. The precise criminal theory: why falsified records become felonies

The April 2023 reporting explains prosecutors charged falsifying business records as felonies because the alleged scheme was part of a broader effort to hide other criminal conduct or to affect an election, which can elevate record‑alteration charges to felonies under New York law. This legal theory frames the 34 counts not as standalone bookkeeping errors but as components of a larger, knowingly deceptive course of conduct. The Manhattan DA’s public statements and the indictment language reflected that theory, which is central to the prosecution’s strategy ^[1].

4. Timeline of the case through the provided documents

The supplied sources trace the matter from the Manhattan grand jury phase and a continuing investigation to the March–April 2023 indictment, arrest, and arraignment where Trump pleaded not guilty. Earlier notes indicate the grand jury reconvened to hear evidence in a multi‑year probe; later reporting confirms the sealing of charges prior to the April indictment and public arraignment. These documents establish that the grand jury work preceded the indictment and that formal criminal proceedings were underway by April 2023 ^{[4] [5] [1]}.

5. What the defense and plea status are in these reports

According to the April 2023 coverage, Donald Trump entered a not‑guilty plea to the 34 felony counts at arraignment, which is the immediate procedural posture reported in these sources. That plea preserves typical pretrial motions, discovery disputes, and potential constitutional challenges to the indictment. The materials provided do not include subsequent rulings, plea negotiations, or trial outcomes beyond the plea and initial arraignment status, leaving the post‑arraignment procedural trajectory unspecified in these excerpts ^{[1] [4]}.

6. The broader corporate exposure the sources mention

One of the supplied pieces indicates that Trump’s company was also under scrutiny and could face criminal exposure tied to the New York investigation into business practices. That reporting situates Donald Trump’s individual criminal counts within a broader inquiry that targeted corporate accounting and potential corporate criminal liability, highlighting that the Manhattan inquiry encompassed both personal and business‑entity lines of inquiry, which has implications for potential parallel charges or corporate penalties ^[3].

7. Media framing and differences across the supplied pieces

The supplied analyses vary in detail: some emphasize the grand jury and investigatory phase, some summarize the indictment’s headline count of 34 felonies, and others highlight potential corporate exposure. These differences reflect editorial choices—investigative background versus indictment specifics—and suggest readers should treat single summaries cautiously. The materials together show a movement from investigation to formal indictment and arraignment, with each source selectively foregrounding either legal process, prosecutorial intent, or investigatory scope ^{[6] [4] [1]}.

8. What the provided evidence does not answer and what to watch next

The materials do not report post‑arraignment developments such as pretrial rulings, evidentiary disclosures, trial dates, conviction outcomes, or appeals; they also do not provide detailed indictment text or evidence exhibits. For a complete, current picture beyond April 2023, the logical next items to monitor are court docket entries for motions and trial scheduling, any unsealed charging documents, and Manhattan DA public filings. The supplied sources establish the core 34‑count indictment and not‑guilty plea, but leave subsequent procedural and factual developments unreported in these excerpts ^{[1] [5]}.