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NEW YORK -- NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s New York transgression proceedings is afloat of presumption you don’t typically perceive successful a courtroom.
Centering connected allegations Trump falsified his company’s records to conceal the quality of hush wealth reimbursements, it's the archetypal ever transgression proceedings of a erstwhile U.S. president and the archetypal of Trump’s 4 indictments to spell to trial. It besides has immoderate unsocial terminology.
Here are immoderate examples:
DEFINITION: According to Merriam-Webster, it's wealth paid truthful that idiosyncratic volition support accusation secret. In different words, wealth that a idiosyncratic pays idiosyncratic to hush up something.
EXAMPLE: Three payments that prosecutors accidental were made connected Trump's behalf to hide marital infidelity claims during his 2016 statesmanlike campaign. They are the National Enquirer's $30,000 outgo to a Trump Tower doorman and $150,000 outgo to erstwhile Playboy exemplary Karen McDougal, and the $130,000 that Trump’s then-lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen arranged to wage porn histrion Stormy Daniels.
Paying hush wealth isn't amerciable connected its own, but authorities accidental the payments made to suppress stories astir Trump amounted to amerciable run contributions. Cohen pleaded blameworthy successful 2018 to a national run violation, among different unrelated crimes. The National Enquirer's genitor company, American Media Inc., entered into a nonprosecution statement successful speech for its practice with prosecutors. The Federal Election Commission fined the institution $187,500, declaring that the McDougal woody was a “prohibited firm in-kind contribution.”
DEFINITION: As authoritative Matthew Colangelo told jurors successful his opening statement, “catch-and-kill” is erstwhile a tabloid paper specified arsenic the National Enquirer “buys up damaging accusation astir someone, demands that the root motion a nondisclosure statement to forestall them from taking that accusation oregon that communicative anyplace else, and past the tabloid declines to people the communicative to forestall it from ever seeing the airy of day.” A nondisclosure statement is besides known arsenic a confidentiality agreement.
EXAMPLE: Tabloids typically wage sources and communicative subjects for accusation they extremity up publishing. But sometimes they wage for stories to forestall their publication. Former National Enquirer steadfast David Pecker testified that helium agreed, astatine a Trump Tower gathering successful August 2015, to beryllium the “eyes and ears” of Trump's 2016 statesmanlike campaign. Under the arrangement, Pecker said helium would notify Cohen of women who were seeking to merchantability stories astir Trump truthful Trump's squad could “take them disconnected the marketplace oregon termination them successful immoderate manner.”
Pecker testified that helium had suppressed stories astir different celebrities and politicians implicit the years utilizing the aforesaid “catch and kill” methods, including histrion and ex-California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and golfer Tiger Woods. Pecker said helium sometimes suppressed stories simply to assistance a person oregon further his concern interests, but often helium did truthful to leverage the communicative taxable into doing thing else, similar agreeing to an interrogation oregon posing for a mag cover.
DEFINITION: This is the transgression complaint that's being decided astatine Trump's New York trial. He is charged with 34 counts of falsifying concern records successful the archetypal degree. It is simply a felony punishable by up to 4 years successful prison, though determination is nary warrant Trump would beryllium sentenced to immoderate clip if convicted. He has pleaded not guilty.
Under New York law, a idiosyncratic is blameworthy of falsifying concern records successful the archetypal grade erstwhile helium makes oregon causes a mendacious introduction to beryllium made successful a company's concern records and does truthful with an intent to defraud, including intent to perpetrate oregon fell different crime.
EXAMPLE: Prosecutors allege Trump misrepresented payments to Cohen successful Trump's institution records arsenic ineligible fees erstwhile they were really a reimbursement for the $130,000 that Cohen arranged to wage Daniels. The records astatine contented see wide ledger entries, invoices and checks. Prosecutors reason Trump's actions were a mode of hiding the hush wealth strategy and concealing different crimes arising from it, including alleged election instrumentality violations. Trump denies the allegations. His lawyers person said the payments to Cohen were for morganatic ineligible expenses.
DEFINITION: Trump isn’t charged with the transgression of conspiracy, but prosecutors astatine his New York proceedings person utilized the word repeatedly to picture his “eyes and ears” statement with Pecker and the hush wealth arrangements that ensued.
According to Merriam-Webster, conspiring involves joining “in a concealed statement to bash an unlawful oregon wrongful enactment oregon an enactment which becomes unlawful arsenic a effect of the concealed agreement.” Under New York law, a conspiracy involves astatine slightest 2 radical acting with intent to perpetrate a crime.
EXAMPLE: Colangelo, the prosecutor, said successful his opening connection that Trump's proceedings involves “an amerciable conspiracy to undermine the integrity of a statesmanlike election.” To convict Trump of felony falsifying concern records, prosecutors indispensable amusement that helium had intent to perpetrate different crime. Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass said successful tribunal that 1 of the crimes Trump intended to perpetrate was a usurpation of a New York predetermination instrumentality — a misdemeanor involving a conspiracy to beforehand oregon forestall an election.
DEFINITION: Any effort to change the result of an predetermination done nefarious means, specified arsenic fraud, elector intimidation oregon efforts to overturn the result of a race.
EXAMPLE: Prosecutors allege the hush wealth strategy amounted to predetermination interference due to the fact that it progressive a concerted effort to fell important accusation from voters successful bid to boost Trump's chances successful the 2016 race.
Not lone was the National Enquirer acting arsenic the “eyes and ears” of Trump's campaign, identifying antagonistic stories truthful they could beryllium suppressed, Pecker testified that the tabloid, astatine Cohen’s behest, printed stories that tarred Trump’s opponents. It besides published stories that boosted Trump's image.
It’s a antithetic benignant of predetermination interference allegation from what Trump is charged with successful his Washington and Georgia cases, wherever he’s accused of attempting to subvert his 2020 predetermination nonaccomplishment to Democrat Joe Biden. Meanwhile, Trump claims that being enactment connected proceedings portion he’s campaigning arsenic this year’s presumptive Republican nominee is its ain signifier of predetermination interference.
DEFINITION: Generally speaking, a gag bid is “a judicial ruling barring nationalist disclosure oregon treatment (as by the press) of accusation related to a case,” according to Merriam-Webster. In Trump’s case, it's known arsenic an Order Restricting Extrajudicial Statements, with extrajudicial meaning extracurricular of court.
EXAMPLE: Judge Juan M. Merchan, acting connected a petition from prosecutors, imposed a constricted gag bid connected Trump connected March 26. It bars the erstwhile president from making oregon directing different radical to marque nationalist statements connected his behalf astir imaginable witnesses regarding their information successful the case. It besides prohibits comments astir jurors, prosecutors different than District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and immoderate statements meant to interfere with oregon harass the court’s staff, prosecution squad oregon their families.
Merchan expanded the bid connected April 1, barring Trump from commenting astir his household oregon Bragg’s family. The alteration came aft Trump assailed the judge’s girl and made mendacious claims astir her connected societal media.
Last Tuesday, Trump was assessed a $9,000 good — $1,000 for each of 9 abstracted gag bid violations that the justice identified. Prosecutors aboriginal requested an further $4,000 punishment for what they said were further breaches of the order.
Merchan lamented that $1,000 per usurpation is the maximum good allowed by instrumentality and floated the anticipation of jailing Trump if helium continues to tally afoul of the gag order, an unprecedented result for a erstwhile American president.
Trump’s lawyers importune helium needs leeway to respond to criticism, including from witnesses similar Cohen and Daniels, and that the gag bid impedes his quality to reply questions and support himself amid a crush of media sum of his lawsuit and his candidacy.
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