Trump Arrested on Multiple Felony Counts

By Shayne Cytrynbaum ‘25
Former US President Donald Trump has been indicted and arrested for 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office accused Trump of failing to report several pay-offs conducted by the Trump Organization, Trump’s attorney Michael Cohen and allied corporation American Media, Inc., conducted in order to ‘catch and kill’ news stories containing allegations of Trump’s extramarital affairs. Trump had been expecting the Grand Jury to indict him for over a week preceding his official indictment, and flew into New York City to be arraigned and fingerprinted, where he was greeted by MAGA supporters protesting against the indictment and progressive counter protesters supporting the Grand Jury’s decision.
    “When I first saw the notification of Trump’s indictment on my phone, I thought to myself, ‘It is about time,’” said sophomore Rachel Nadelmann. “Even though I am thrilled with the news, I am still not optimistic that he will be convicted.”
The charges stemmed from an investigation into possible campaign finance crimes in relation to Trump’s alleged 2006 affair with adult film actress Stormy Daniels, who was paid $130,000 in 2016 by Michael Cohen to stop her from publishing accounts of the alleged affair. Cohen pled guilty in 2018 to charges of tax evasion and campaign finance violations relating to the pay-off, and during his three years in prison, maintained his stance that Trump had ordered him to pay the $130,000 illegally.
The indictment brief for Trump’s 34 felony counts also referenced two other incidents of falsifying business records concerning campaign finance violations. The first incident concerns American Media, Inc. paying $150,000 at Trump’s personal request to Playboy model Karen McDougal to suppress her claim of an affair with Trump from 2006 to 2007. The second incident concerns American Media, Inc. paying $30,000 to Dino Sajudin, a former Trump Tower doorman who alleged that Trump had fathered a child out of wedlock in the 1980s. 
“I knew about Stormy Daniels since I had seen it on the news,” said sophomore Jordyn Weiseleder. “I was surprised to see it pop up on the news again, as it is a story that has been told time and time again, and you do not usually see an old story from several years ago pop up again like this.”
    Although both the judge and the District Attorney’s office have tried to keep the case apolitical, both sides of the political spectrum were ignited by the decision. The indictment comes only months after Trump announced his presidential bid for the 2024 elections, with many on the right believing that the case was a political “witch-hunt” targeting the increasingly-beleaguered former president, while many on the left argued that the indictment is further reasoning as to why Trump should not be president. 
“I was relieved to hear that finally, a man of wealth and control is facing the criminal charges he deserves,” said sophomore Cayla McKay. “This comes as a sign that the rich and powerful can face the repercussions of their actions, [and that they must] not [be able to] act outside the law without punishment solely because of their status.”
 “I believe Trump’s indictment is simply a distraction promoted by Trump’s haters to distract from more important problems. The Democrats and Trump’s haters are targeting him because they envy Trump’s ability to speak his mind about [what] he feels about opposing politicians and real world issues,” asserted sophomore Noam Waknin. “When you take into consideration that the United States is at an all time high in debt at nearly $31 trillion and rising tensions with other countries is almost as bad as its been since World War II, I believe there are more important issues to be resolved [than] accusing Donald Trump of falsifying business records, especially since there is not a specific law that he broke.”
Last month, many protesters gathered outside the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse in support of Trump continued to claim that the 2020 election was rigged or stolen. Election-denying Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) briefly joined protestors with a megaphone before leaving after anti-Trump counterprotesters drowned out her speech. Rep. George Santos (R-NY) also joined Rep. Greene and the MAGA protestors. 
Considering the election denialism in the wake of the 2020 election and his role in causing the violent insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6th, 2021, many critics of Trump believe that his indictment in a case relating to campaign finance violations is especially troubling for American democracy, as conspiracy theories and flagrant lying become normalized among politicians. 
“I believe that Trump's recent indictment reflects Trump as a threat to democracy as he is the only president who has been indicted for a crime and therefore reveals the corruption in our country,” said sophomore Abby Hodes. “Political leaders often get away with fraud; therefore Trump must be [held accountable] as he has severed our democracy. Trump’s indictment proves that even a former president is not above the law.”
“To make the election fair for both political parties, I think the judge should make the hearing sooner so the backlash about the case will not be a factor in the election,” added Waknin. “My opinion on Trump’s indictment is that the judge pushing Trump’s court date back to December is unfair knowing the election would be 12 months away.  I also feel decisions made on the case will be biased because the [legal] team is mostly Democratic.”
The next hearing for the case is currently scheduled for December 4th. Some political analysts believe the trial could extend into the 2024 primary campaign season, in which Trump is already facing former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley and former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson for the Republican Party nomination. Although Trump so far seems to have a very large lead, he is also facing a litany of other lawsuits and criminal investigations, including investigations into his interference in the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, his role in the January 6th insurrection, his mishandling of classified documents, civil fraud and a defamation lawsuit concerning writer E. Jean Carroll’s sexual assault allegations against Trump.