In 2006 Donald Trump was busy. Two women, Karen McDougal and Stephanie Clifford aka Stormey Daniels, later came forward with information about the separate affairs they had with Trump in 2006. Both women were involved in discussions about their stories with executives at the National Enquirer which was published by American Media, Inc. (AMI) and run by Trump friend and fixer David Pecker. In August 2016 Karen McDougal received a payment from AMI to keep her story quiet and in October 2016 Stormy Daniels had discussions with AMI and then received a payment from then Trump fixer Michael Cohen to keep her story quiet ahead of the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Today the first criminal trial against a U.S. president begins in Manhattan where District Attorney Alvin Bragg has charged Donald Trump with 34 felonies related to falsifying documents to conceal hush money payments made to Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Below is a timeline of events, the Indictment and Statement of Facts pdfs, and other resources.
Key People
Donald Trump
Stormy Daniels
Michael Cohen
Hush Money Payment Timeline
2006
Reported Trump affairs with Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels
Aug. 2016
$150,000
Cohen helped arrange AMI payment to Karen McDougal
Michael Cohen helped arrange for National Enquirer publisher American Media, Inc. (AMI) to pay former Playboy model Karen McDougal $150,000 to keep her story of a ten month affair with Trump in 2006 quiet. AMI, which renamed to A360 Media, LLC, and CEO David Pecker, later agreed to pay a penalty of $187,500 to the FEC for violating the Federal Campaign Act by making payments to suppress negatives stories about Trump.
AMI/National Enquirer
Oct. 7-8, 2016
Access Hollywood recording of Trump released
Stormy Daniels’ lawyer Keith Davidson contacted AMI about her affair with Trump
AMI/National Enquirer
Oct. 2016
Discussions with Cohen, Trump campaign and AMI/National Enquirer
After Stormy Daniels’s lawyer Keith Davidson contacted AMI, subpoenas show calls among various people including Michael Cohen, Trump, Hope Hicks and AMI CEO David Pecker and National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard.
Oct. 18-26, 2016
$131,000
Cohen set up funding and created Essential Consultants LLC
Cohen missed two deadlines to pay Daniels $130,000 and called in a loan of $3.8 million he had made to French investor Christophe Escoffier through Bo and Abe Realty, a company created by Cohen with his brother and mother-in-law. Escoffier didn’t repay the loan until the end of the month. Cohen used a home equity line of credit on his Park Avenue residence and transferred funds into Essential Consultants bank account. The HELOC was later replenished with funds from Bo and Abe Realty after Escoffier repaid the loan.
Essential Consultants
Bo and Abe Realty
Oct. 27-28, 2016
$130,000
Cohen made payment to Stormy Daniels
Cohen paid Stormy Daniels $130,000 and an agreement between Daniels aka Stephanie Cliffords aka “Peggy Peterson” and Donald Trump aka “David Dennison” was signed. According to Cohen after the payment was made he “called Trump to confirm that the transaction was completed, and the documentation all in place, but he didn’t take my call — obviously a very bad sign, in hindsight,” he said and instead he spoke to Kellyanne Conway who “said she’d pass along the good news.”
Nov. 8, 2016
U.S. Presidential election
Jan. 2017
$180,000
Cohen sent invoice to the Trump Organization
Cohen sent an invoice to the Trump Organization for $130,000 for the Clifford payment and $50,000 for ‘tech services’.
Trump Organization
Feb. 2017
$420,000
Trump Organization significantly increased the payment to Cohen
Trump Org ”grossed up” the $180,000 invoice for tax purposes to $360,000 and added a $60,000 bonus and noted in their records to “Please pay from the Trust. Post to legal expenses.” Starting in February 2017 Cohen was paid monthly installments of $35,000.
Trump Organization
2018
Cohen charged and pleaded guilty to charges related to work on behalf of Trump
Cohen pleaded guilty in August 2018, to eight counts including campaign finance violations, tax fraud, and bank fraud. Cohen said he violated campaign-finance laws at the direction of Trump and “for the principal purpose of influencing” the 2016 presidential election. In November 2018, Cohen entered a second guilty plea for lying to a Senate committee about efforts to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. On December 12, 2018, he was sentenced to three years in federal prison and ordered to pay a $50,000 fine.
Complaint filed by Stormy Daniels against Trump
Stormy Daniels with her lawyer Michael Avenatti filed a Complaint for Declaratory Relief against Donald Trump aka. David Dennison and Essential Consultants, LLC. The lawsuit was later dismissed.
2021 – 2022
The Trump Organization indicted and convicted of tax fraud
The Trump Corporation and Trump Payroll Corp, which both do business as (d/b/a) The Trump Organization were indicted in 2021 on tax fraud and related counts and convicted in December 2022. The Trump Organization was ordered to pay a $1.6 million fine to the state, the largest amount allowable under New York law.
Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg charged and pleaded guilty to tax evasion
Long-time Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg was charged in 2021 and pleaded guilty in August 2022 to 15 charges related to tax evasion. Weisselberg is serving a prison sentence until April 19, 2023 and is not cooperating with prosecutors. Per Cohen he worked with Weisselberg on the arrangements to pay Clifford after Trump approved the payment.
Trump Organization
April 4, 2023
Criminal Indictment against Donald Trump
- The investigation into hush money payments made during the end of the Trump campaign started under Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr.
- The Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg implemented a grand jury in January 2023.
- On April 4, 2023 the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced 34 count felony indictment of former President Donald J. Trump
Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. announced the indictment of Donald J. Trump, for falsifying New York business records in order to conceal damaging information and unlawful activity from American voters before and after the 2016 election. During the election, Trump and others employed a “catch and kill” scheme to identify, purchase, and bury negative information about him and boost his electoral prospects. Trump then went to great lengths to hide this conduct, causing dozens of false entries in business records to conceal criminal activity, including attempts to violate state and federal election laws.
Chart from the Manhattan District Attorney
This chart was published by the Manhattan District Attorney in their April 4, 2023 press release.
Indictment
The People of the State of New York against Donald J. Trump
Statement of Facts
The People of the State of New York against Donald J. Trump
Other resources
Law 360 has put together this Trump Tracker, a helpful resource to view public filings with a digital docket for filings related to People of the State of New York v. Donald J. Trump.
This timeline by Stefan Becket at CBS News has a lot of excellent details: Timeline: Donald Trump, Stormy Daniels and the $130,000 payment to buy her silence.
Here’s an overview from Democracy Labs on Election Interference 101: How To Bury A Scandal with a great interactive chart on key people involved.
Adam Klasfeld, a fellow at Just Security, created this helpful video explainer of the trial:
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