Hush money case: Ex-US president Donald Trump pleads not guilty to criminal charges, next in-person hearing in Dec

Former president Donald Trump on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, as the Republican billionaire became the first-ever American president to face criminal charges.

Trump, the leading Republican candidate in the 2024 polls spent about an hour inside the courtroom. The next in-person hearing in the case is scheduled to take place on 4 December.

Earlier in the day, Trump was arrested after he voluntarily surrendered before a New York court over charges stemming from a hush money payment to a porn actor during the 2016 elections campaign.

However, he was allowed to go home following his court appearance.

What is the hush money case?

Trump was indicted last week by a grand jury in the case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, an elected Democrat, according to an AFP report.

The charges revolve around the investigation of $130,000 paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels just days before Trump’s election win.

Trump’s former lawyer and aide Michael Cohen, who has turned against his ex-boss, says he arranged the payment to Daniels in exchange for her silence about a tryst she says she had with Trump in 2006.

Trump, whose third wife Melania had recently given birth at the time, denies the affair.

All 34 counts against Trump are linked to a series of checks that were written to Trump’s personal lawyer and problem-solver, Michael Cohen, to reimburse him for his role in paying off Daniels. Those payments, made over 12 months, were recorded in various internal company documents as being for a legal retainer that prosecutors say didn’t exist. Cohen testified before the grand jury and is expected to be a star prosecution witness. Nine of those monthly checks were paid out of Trump’s personal accounts, but records related to them were maintained in the Trump Organization’s data system, AP reported.

Also read: Hush money to Capitol attack: A look at Donald Trump’s legal woes

Legal experts have suggested that if not properly accounted for, the payment could result in charges for falsifying business records, possibly for the purpose of covering up a campaign finance violation.

Trump is facing a series of separate criminal investigations at the state and federal level that could result in further — more serious — charges between now and Election Day.

They include his attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state of Georgia, his handling of classified documents, and his possible involvement in the storming of the US Capitol on 6 January 2021.

With inputs from agencies

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