 "History in making: Timeline of Donald Trump's hush money case")
After years of investigation, the first criminal trial of Former US President Donald Trump is all set to commence on Monday, i.e. April 15 in New York. With this, the business-mogul-turned politician will become the first ex-American president to face the court over a criminal case.
Trump will be facing New York prosecutors after he was accused of covering up a $130,000 payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels. According to the prosecutors, Trump allegedly had his former “fixer” Michael Cohen pay Daniels, while he reimbursed him by writing off the payment as legal fees.
In light of this, the Manhattan district attorney’s office charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records. It is pertinent to note that this is the first of the four criminal cases the former reality television star is currently facing.
Before the trial heads to court, here’s a look at the timeline of the hush money case:
Timeline
- June 16, 2015 - Trump announced that he would be running for the office, slowly becoming the top Republican contender against Democrats’ eventual pick, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
- August 2015 - Trump met the then-chairman and CEO of American Media Inc., David Pecker at his famous Trump Tower in New York. Pecker who owns the National Enquirer agreed to help the former president in his election campaign by looking out for negative stories about him to “catch and kill,”.
Prosecutors alleged that Pecker agreed to be the “eyes and ears” for Trump’s campaign and was supposed to flag any negative stories to Cohen.
Pecker learned that one of Trump’s doorman was trying to sell a story that the former president has allegedly fathered a child out of wedlock. The prosecutors claimed that at the instruction of Pecker, AMI signed an agreement to pay the doorman $30,000 in exchange for acquiring exclusive rights to the story.
- June 2016 - The National Enquirer’s editor-in-chief and the chief content officer told Cohen that a woman – who was believed to be Playboy model Karen McDougal – alleged that she had a sexual relationship with Trump while he was married.
The prosecutors found that AMI eventually paid her $150,000 in exchange for her not speaking out on the alleged sexual relationship. However, Trump had denied having any such affairs
- September 2016 - An audio recording allegedly captured a conversation between Trump and Cohen in which they discussed how to obtain the rights to the woman’s story from AMI and reimburse it for the payment the company made in June.
A shell company called Resolution Consultants, LLC was allegedly set up on September 30 2016. Pecker signed an agreement to transfer the story rights to the company which was owned by Cohen on paper, for a whopping $125,000. However, before the reimbursement was made Pecker called off the deal.
- October 7, 2016 - The Washington Post released an “Access Hollywood” video from 2005, in which Trump was heard using vulgar language towards women with then-show host Billy Bush.
Trump eventually released a statement after the recording stirred major headlines and apologies. He went on to describe his remarks as “locker room banter, a private conversation that took place many years ago.”
- October 27, 2016 - The prosecutor alleged that panicked by the bad press, Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 through a shell company in exchange for her silence about an affair she allegedly had with Trump back in 2006.
The prosecutor claimed that Daniles took the story to AMI who then shared the story with Cohen, alerting him to make the payments. Trump allegedly asked Cohen to find a way to delay the payments. Ultimately Cohen made the payment. However, Trump denied either having an affair with Daniels or making such payments.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts- November 8, 2016 - Trump gets elected as the President of the United States.
January 2017 - Prosecutors alleged that between Election Day and Inauguration Day, Trump met Pecker in Trump Tower in Manhattan and thanked him for handling the stories. He eventually invited Pecker to the inauguration ceremony.
February 2017 - Cohen allegedly met Trump in the Oval Office to confirm how he would be reimbursed for the hush money payment. A month before this, then-Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg mapped out a repayment plan in which the latter would send a series of false invoices requesting payment for legal services he performed and would receive monthly checks for the duration of one year.
January 2018 - The Wall Street Journal broke the story about the hush-money payments made by Cohen to Daniels in 2016.
April 9, 2018 - The FBI executes a search warrant on Cohen’s residences and office. Cohen allegedly spoke to Trump on the day of the FBI searches and the prosecutors alleged that Trump told him to “stay strong”.
April 21, 2018 - Trump publicly encouraged Cohen not to “flip” in a series of tweets on X, then called Twitter. “Most people will flip if the Government lets them out of trouble, even if it means lying or making up stories. Sorry, I don’t see Michael doing that,” he wrote.
....non-existent “sources” and a drunk/drugged up loser who hates Michael, a fine person with a wonderful family. Michael is a businessman for his own account/lawyer who I have always liked & respected. Most people will flip if the Government lets them out of trouble, even if....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 21, 2018
- May 2018 - In a separate social media rant, the former president explained why he was paying Cohen on a monthly basis. “Cohen, an attorney, received a monthly retainer, not from the campaign and having nothing to do with the campaign, from which he entered into, through reimbursement, a private contract between two parties, known as a non-disclosure agreement, or NDA,” he wrote on X.
Mr. Cohen, an attorney, received a monthly retainer, not from the campaign and having nothing to do with the campaign, from which he entered into, through reimbursement, a private contract between two parties, known as a non-disclosure agreement, or NDA. These agreements are.....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 3, 2018
...very common among celebrities and people of wealth. In this case it is in full force and effect and will be used in Arbitration for damages against Ms. Clifford (Daniels). The agreement was used to stop the false and extortionist accusations made by her about an affair,......
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 3, 2018
The prosecutors will be submitting these tweets as evidence at the trial.
July 2018 - In an interview with ABC News’ “Good Morning America,” Cohen expressed his willingness to cooperate with the FBI. “My wife, my daughter and my son have my first loyalty and always will,” Cohen averred. “I put family and country first,” he added.
August 2018 - Michael Cohen pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court. Cohen maintained that he paid both women at Trump’s direction. “If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you don’t retain the services of Michael Cohen!” Trump wrote just hours after Cohen pleaded guilty.
- August 2019 - Cyrus Vance, who was the Manhattan district attorney at the time, issued a subpoena to the Trump Organization for records of the hush-money payments.
- January 2023 - Alvin Bragg, who was elected as Manhattan district attorney in 2023 and other prosecutors involved in the case started presenting evidence to a grand jury.
March 30, 2023 - A Manhattan grand jury indicted Trump, making him the first current or former US President to be charged criminally in the nation’s history.
April 4, 2023 - The former US President surrendered to a New York State criminal court in Manhattan and entered a plea of not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records. The indictment document was released only after the historic arraignment hearing.
- March 25 2024 - While Trump was dealing with other legal cases Judge Merchan ruled the trial will now begin April 15 with jury selection. Since then, Merchan has dismissed multiple requests made by Trump to delay the trial.
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
