Former US President Donald Trump has been charged with business fraud over secret money payments to former porn actress Stormy Daniels.
Ms Daniels alleges that she and Mr Trump had a sexual relationship and that before the 2016 election she accepted $130,000 (£104,000) from her former lawyer in return for her not having met.
Lawyer Michael Cohen was subsequently jailed on multiple counts.
Since the allegations surfaced in 2018, the former president has denied any sexual relationship with Ms Daniels.
Stormy Daniels goes public with affair claim
Daniels, real name Stephanie Clifford, has said in media interviews that she met Trump at a charity golf tournament in July 2006.
She claimed the couple once had sex in their hotel room in Lake Tahoe, a resort town between California and Nevada. A lawyer for Trump "vehemently" rejected that at the time.
"He didn't seem worried about it. He was a little cocky," she said when asked by an interviewer if Trump had told her to shut up about their alleged night together.
Melania Trump, Trump's then-wife, was not at the tournament and had just had a child.
Threats and payments to stay silent
In 2016, days before the US presidential election, Daniels said Trump lawyer Michael Cohen paid her $130,000 in "silent money" to keep her quiet on the issue.
She said she took it because she feared for her family's safety. Ms Daniels said she had been legally and physically threatened to remain silent.
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In 2011, shortly after agreeing to give In Touch magazine an interview about the alleged affair, she said an unidentified man approached her and her young daughter in a Las Vegas parking lot. and told him to "leave Trump alone".
"She's a beautiful girl. It would be a shame if anything happened to her mother," she recalled in a 2018 interview with CBS 60 Minutes.
Before the episode aired, a shell company associated with Cohen threatened Daniels with a $20 million lawsuit, arguing that he had broken their non-disclosure agreement (NDA) or "non-disclosure agreement". .
Ms Daniels told CBS she could face a million dollar fine for speaking on national television, but 'it was very important to me to be able to defend myself'.
His interview with In Touch wasn't published in full until 2018, three months before the 60 Minutes episode.
Is it illegal to pay hush money?
It is not illegal to pay someone compensation in exchange for an NDA.
However, prosecutors focused on how Cohen's restitution was recorded in Trump's accounts. He is accused of falsifying his business documents, calling the payment legal fees.
The bank transfer took place a few days before the presidential elections. District Attorney Alvin Bragg alleges Trump attempted to "cover up crimes that concealed information harmful to the electorate."
In August 2018, Cohen was jailed after pleading guilty to tax evasion and breaking campaign finance rules, in part in connection with his payment to Daniels and another alleged Trump lover.
Although he initially said Trump had nothing to do with the payments, Cohen later testified under oath that Trump ordered him to make the secret $130,000 payment.
Why was Trump indicted?
Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 first-degree counts of falsifying business records in Manhattan Criminal Court. He was charged for payments to Ms Daniels. He is also being investigated for bribing a former Playboy model to hide her alleged sexual relationship with him.
On his Truth Social social network, Trump wrote in all caps that "Radical Left Democrats have criminalized the justice system."
Read Also : What to do before, during and after an earthquake?
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Former US President Donald Trump has been charged with business fraud over secret money payments to former porn actress Stormy Daniels.
Ms Daniels alleges that she and Mr Trump had a sexual relationship and that before the 2016 election she accepted $130,000 (£104,000) from her former lawyer in return for her not having met.
Lawyer Michael Cohen was subsequently jailed on multiple counts.
Since the allegations surfaced in 2018, the former president has denied any sexual relationship with Ms Daniels.
Stormy Daniels goes public with affair claim
Daniels, real name Stephanie Clifford, has said in media interviews that she met Trump at a charity golf tournament in July 2006.
She claimed the couple once had sex in their hotel room in Lake Tahoe, a resort town between California and Nevada. A lawyer for Trump "vehemently" rejected that at the time.
"He didn't seem worried about it. He was a little cocky," she said when asked by an interviewer if Trump had told her to shut up about their alleged night together.
Melania Trump, Trump's then-wife, was not at the tournament and had just had a child.
Threats and payments to stay silent
In 2016, days before the US presidential election, Daniels said Trump lawyer Michael Cohen paid her $130,000 in "silent money" to keep her quiet on the issue.
She said she took it because she feared for her family's safety. Ms Daniels said she had been legally and physically threatened to remain silent.
In 2011, shortly after agreeing to give In Touch magazine an interview about the alleged affair, she said an unidentified man approached her and her young daughter in a Las Vegas parking lot. and told him to "leave Trump alone".
"She's a beautiful girl. It would be a shame if anything happened to her mother," she recalled in a 2018 interview with CBS 60 Minutes.
Before the episode aired, a shell company associated with Cohen threatened Daniels with a $20 million lawsuit, arguing that he had broken their non-disclosure agreement (NDA) or "non-disclosure agreement". .
Ms Daniels told CBS she could face a million dollar fine for speaking on national television, but 'it was very important to me to be able to defend myself'.
His interview with In Touch wasn't published in full until 2018, three months before the 60 Minutes episode.
Is it illegal to pay hush money?
It is not illegal to pay someone compensation in exchange for an NDA.
However, prosecutors focused on how Cohen's restitution was recorded in Trump's accounts. He is accused of falsifying his business documents, calling the payment legal fees.
The bank transfer took place a few days before the presidential elections. District Attorney Alvin Bragg alleges Trump attempted to "cover up crimes that concealed information harmful to the electorate."
In August 2018, Cohen was jailed after pleading guilty to tax evasion and breaking campaign finance rules, in part in connection with his payment to Daniels and another alleged Trump lover.
Although he initially said Trump had nothing to do with the payments, Cohen later testified under oath that Trump ordered him to make the secret $130,000 payment.
Why was Trump indicted?
Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 first-degree counts of falsifying business records in Manhattan Criminal Court. He was charged for payments to Ms Daniels. He is also being investigated for bribing a former Playboy model to hide her alleged sexual relationship with him.
On his Truth Social social network, Trump wrote in all caps that "Radical Left Democrats have criminalized the justice system."
Read Also : What to do before, during and after an earthquake?