Former US President Trump to Face Criminal Charges for First Time

Former US President Trump¹ to Face Criminal Charges for First Time

Former U.S. President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges of reporting false business records.

The charges came after an investigation² into payments to an adult movie performer during his 2016 presidential campaign. The money was aimed at buying the silence of the performer.

Trump sat with his hands folded as he entered the plea: "Not guilty."

Trump is the first U.S. president to face criminal charges either in or out of office. He is also a leading candidate for the Republican nomination³ in the 2024 presidential campaign.

The indictment⁵ accused Trump of "intent to defraud⁶ and intent to commit another crime" and then to try to hide it. The indictment listed 34 counts of falsifying business records under New York State law. A count is a separate crime.

The 16-page indictment contains new details about a plan to pay off two women who said they had sexual contact with Trump. It also contains information about payment to a Trump Tower doorman who claimed to have a story about a child he said the former president had outside of his marriage.

In a statement, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said, "The People of the State of New York allege⁷ that Donald J. Trump repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal⁸ crimes that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election."

Todd Blanche is a lawyer for Trump. He told reporters after the hearing, "We're going to fight it. We're going to fight it hard,"

Falsifying business records in New York on its own is a misdemeanor, or not a serious crime, punishable by no more than one year in prison. But the crime is increased to a felony, a serious crime, punishable by up to four years in prison when done to hide another crime.

In this case, the Manhattan district attorney would have to prove that Trump falsified business records with the intent to hide the payments during the 2016 election.

Some of the evidence against Trump is in an audio recording⁹ made in September 2016 as he and his lawyer discussed how to suppress stories about his affair, government lawyers said. Court documents said Trump can be heard saying, "So what do we got to pay for this?"

Michael Cohen, Trump's former lawyer, was one of the witnesses before the grand jury that voted to indict⁴ Trump. Cohen said that he made the payment to adult film performer Stormy Daniels to keep her from telling in public about a sexual relationship she said she had with Trump years earlier. Cohen also said Trump's business, called the Trump Organization, repaid the money with Trump's knowledge, and claimed them as legal costs.

The supporting document also alleges¹⁰ a "catch and kill" plan to suppress a story from another adult magazine model, Karen McDougal. Former National Enquirer¹¹ newspaper publisher David Pecker was another witness before the grand jury. He had earlier said that payments were made to suppress stories that could hurt Trump's 2016 campaign.

Trump, who has called the charges political, held his fist in the air as he left Trump Tower for the courthouse.

Trump was to return to his Florida home, Mar-a-Lago, on Tuesday evening to give remarks.

The indictment and even a conviction would not prevent Trump from running for or winning the presidency¹² in 2024.

Words in This Story

plea –n. a defendant's statement about the charges against them in a court of law

intent –n. an aim or plan to do something

defraud –v. to cheat or trick someone to get money

allege –v. to state without definite proof or the decision of a jury or court

indict –v. to officially bring charges against someone or some group in a court of law under the rule of law

grand jury –n. a jury that looks at evidence to decide if charges should be brought against an person or persons

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

3 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

4 indict   

v.起诉，控告，指控

参考例句：

• You can't indict whole people for the crudeness of a few.您不能因少数人的粗暴行为就控诉整个民族。
• I can indict you for abducting high school student.我可以告你诱拐中学生。

5 indictment   

n.起诉；诉状

参考例句：

• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
• They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。

6 defraud   

vt.欺骗，欺诈

参考例句：

• He passed himself off as the managing director to defraud the bank.他假冒总经理的名义诈骗银行。
• He is implicated in the scheme to defraud the government.他卷入了这起欺骗政府的阴谋。

7 allege   

vt.宣称，申述，主张，断言

参考例句：

• The newspaper reporters allege that the man was murdered but they have given no proof.新闻记者们宣称这个男人是被谋杀的，但他们没提出证据。
• Students occasionally allege illness as the reason for absence.学生时不时会称病缺课。

8 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

9 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

10 alleges   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The newspaper article alleges that the mayor is corrupt. 报纸上断言该市长腐败。
• Steven was tardy this morning and alleges that his bus was late. 史提芬今天早上迟到的说词是公车误点了。

11 enquirer   

寻问者，追究者

参考例句：

• The "National Enquirer" blazoned forth that we astronomers had really discovered another civilization. 《国民询问者》甚至宣称，我们天文学家已真正发现了其它星球上的文明。
• Should we believe a publication like the national enquirer? 我们要相信像《国家探秘者》之类的出版物吗？

12 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。