People v. Donald J. Trump · New York Supreme Court, Manhattan
The Felony Conviction
On May 30, 2024, a Manhattan jury found Donald Trump guilty on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal a $130,000 payment made to an adult-film actress before the 2016 election. He is the first U.S. president with a felony conviction. The conviction stands while his appeal is pending.
Last updated October 21, 2026
34 / 34
counts, guilty on every one
$130,000
payment the records concealed
$420,000
repaid to Cohen in 2017
Pending
state appeal, as of this update
Where it stands
- The conviction is in effect. Sentence: unconditional discharge, imposed January 10, 2025 — no prison and no probation, but the 34 felony convictions remain on his record.
- State appeal:filed October 27, 2025 in the Appellate Division, First Department. The district attorney's brief opposing it was reported July 29, 2026. No decision has been reported.
- Federal court: Judge Alvin Hellerstein has three times refused to move the case to federal court, most recently August 28, 2026. Trump has appealed that ruling to the Second Circuit.
The scheme, as charged
Catch and kill, then a cover
This is the prosecution's account from the Statement of Facts. The jury's verdict found the 34 records false and made with the required intent.
Prosecutors described a “catch and kill” arrangement during the 2016 campaign with American Media Inc. (AMI), the publisher of the National Enquirer, to buy and bury stories that could hurt Trump. AMI paid $30,000 to a former Trump Tower doorman and $150,000 to a woman who said she had a sexual relationship with Trump. AMI later admitted its conduct was unlawful in an agreement with federal prosecutors.
Twelve days before the election, on October 27, 2016, Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen wired $130,000 to the lawyer for an adult-film actress. He paid it from a shell company, Essential Consultants LLC, which he funded with money from his home equity line of credit. In August 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to federal crimes involving illegal campaign contributions and later served prison time.
The 34 counts are not about the payment itself. They are about how Cohen was paid back.
The repayment
How $130,000 became $420,000
From the Statement of Facts. The calculation was written by hand on a copy of Cohen's bank statement.
- The payment to the actress's lawyer
- $130,000
- Another expense Cohen sought to recover
- + $50,000
- Subtotal
- $180,000
- Doubled so Cohen could report it as income and net $180,000 after tax
- × 2 = $360,000
- Year-end bonus
- + $60,000
- Total, paid as twelve monthly $35,000 installments in 2017
- $420,000
Each month Cohen sent an invoice requesting $35,000 for “legal services” under a retainer agreement. The district attorney's office said the retainer did not exist. Each invoice was then entered in the general ledger and paid by check — first from the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, then from Trump's own account.
The 34 counts
Every record the jury found false
Transcribed from the indictment: 11 invoices, 12 ledger entries, and 11 checks with their stubs, all kept by the Trump Organization. Counts 1–7 are records of the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust; 8–34 are records of Trump's own account.
| Count | On or about | Record | No. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | February 14, 2017 | Invoice | — |
| 2 | February 14, 2017 | Ledger entry | 842457 |
| 3 | February 14, 2017 | Ledger entry | 842460 |
| 4 | February 14, 2017 | Check and stub | 000138 |
| 5 | March 16, 2017 through March 17, 2017 | Invoice | — |
| 6 | March 17, 2017 | Ledger entry | 846907 |
| 7 | March 17, 2017 | Check and stub | 000147 |
| 8 | April 13, 2017 through June 19, 2017 | Invoice | — |
| 9 | June 19, 2017 | Ledger entry | 858770 |
| 10 | June 19, 2017 | Check and stub | 002740 |
| 11 | May 22, 2017 | Invoice | — |
| 12 | May 22, 2017 | Ledger entry | 855331 |
| 13 | May 23, 2017 | Check and stub | 002700 |
| 14 | June 16, 2017 through June 19, 2017 | Invoice | — |
| 15 | June 19, 2017 | Ledger entry | 858772 |
| 16 | June 19, 2017 | Check and stub | 002741 |
| 17 | July 11, 2017 | Invoice | — |
| 18 | July 11, 2017 | Ledger entry | 861096 |
| 19 | July 11, 2017 | Check and stub | 002781 |
| 20 | August 1, 2017 | Invoice | — |
| 21 | August 1, 2017 | Ledger entry | 863641 |
| 22 | August 1, 2017 | Check and stub | 002821 |
| 23 | September 11, 2017 | Invoice | — |
| 24 | September 11, 2017 | Ledger entry | 868174 |
| 25 | September 12, 2017 | Check and stub | 002908 |
| 26 | October 18, 2017 | Invoice | — |
| 27 | October 18, 2017 | Ledger entry | 872654 |
| 28 | October 18, 2017 | Check and stub | 002944 |
| 29 | November 20, 2017 | Invoice | — |
| 30 | November 20, 2017 | Ledger entry | 876511 |
| 31 | November 21, 2017 | Check and stub | 002980 |
| 32 | December 1, 2017 | Invoice | — |
| 33 | December 1, 2017 | Ledger entry | 877785 |
| 34 | December 5, 2017 | Check and stub | 003006 |
Why these are felonies: falsifying business records becomes a first-degree offense, a class E felony under Penal Law §175.10, when the false entry is made with intent to defraud that includes an intent to commit, aid, or conceal another crime. Each count charges that intent.
What the sentence means: an unconditional discharge means no prison term and no probation supervision. It is still a sentence on a conviction; it does not erase the verdict. Each class E felony count carried a potential penalty of up to four years in prison.
Timeline
From the payment to the appeal
Oct 27, 2016
Michael Cohen wires $130,000 to the lawyer for an adult-film actress, 12 days before the election, through a shell company funded from his home equity line.
Feb–Dec 2017
Cohen is repaid $420,000 in eleven checks, recorded against invoices for legal services under a retainer that did not exist.
Aug 2018
Cohen pleads guilty to federal crimes involving illegal campaign contributions and later serves prison time.
Apr 4, 2023
The Manhattan district attorney announces the 34-count indictment and unseals it with a Statement of Facts.
May 30, 2024
A Manhattan jury convicts Trump on all 34 counts after about 9½ hours of deliberations.
Jan 9, 2025
The U.S. Supreme Court, 5–4, refuses to stop sentencing, saying the evidence claims can be raised on appeal.
Jan 10, 2025
Justice Juan Merchan imposes an unconditional discharge on all 34 counts.
Oct 27, 2025
Trump files his appeal in the Appellate Division, First Department.
Nov 6, 2025
The Second Circuit sends Trump's bid to move the case to federal court back to Judge Hellerstein to reconsider.
Jul 2026
The district attorney's office files its brief urging the appeals court to uphold the conviction.
Aug 28, 2026
Hellerstein denies removal a third time. Trump appeals that ruling to the Second Circuit the same day.
Trump's position:after the verdict he called the trial “rigged” and said, “I'm an innocent man.” His appeal argues the jury heard evidence about official acts that the Supreme Court's 2024 immunity decision put off-limits, and that the trial judge should have recused.
The district attorney's office answers that “there is nothing official about paying off an adult film star to keep quiet.” The appeals court has not ruled.
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Primary Sources
Where this account comes from
Indictment — People v. Donald J. Trump, 34 counts, Penal Law §175.10
Manhattan District Attorney's Office·Unsealed April 4, 2023
"Each of the 34 counts charges falsifying business records in the first degree: an invoice, a ledger entry, or a check, made “with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof.”"
Statement of Facts
Manhattan District Attorney's Office·April 4, 2023
"The prosecution's account of the scheme, the $130,000 payment, and how the $420,000 repayment was calculated and paid in twelve $35,000 installments over 2017."
District Attorney Bragg Announces 34-Count Felony Indictment of Former President Donald J. Trump
Manhattan District Attorney's Office·April 4, 2023
"“In total, 34 false entries were made in New York business records to conceal the initial covert $130,000 payment.” The release noted that the charges were allegations and that the defendant was presumed innocent."
D.A. Bragg Announces 34-Count Felony Trial Conviction of Donald J. Trump
Manhattan District Attorney's Office·May 30, 2024
"A New York State Supreme Court jury convicted Trump of 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, a class E felony."
Jury in hush money trial finds Donald Trump guilty on 34 counts
The National Desk (Sinclair) via KATV·May 30, 2024
"The verdict came after 9½ hours of deliberations. Trump called the trial “rigged” and said, “I'm an innocent man.”"
Trump v. New York, No. 24A666 — application for a stay denied
Supreme Court of the United States·January 9, 2025
"The Court denied the stay, noting that alleged evidentiary violations “can be addressed in the ordinary course on appeal.” Justices Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh would have granted it."
Trump was sentenced to an ‘unconditional discharge’ in his hush money conviction. Here's what that means
PBS NewsHour·January 10, 2025
"Justice Juan Merchan sentenced Trump to an unconditional discharge on all 34 counts, making him the first president of the United States with a felony conviction."
Trump formally appeals ‘politically charged’ hush money conviction
NBC News·October 28, 2025
"The appeal was filed with the Appellate Division, First Department. It argues the jury heard evidence it should not have under the Supreme Court's immunity ruling, and that the judge should have recused."
Appeals court gives Trump another shot at erasing hush money conviction
Associated Press via NY1·November 6, 2025
"A Second Circuit panel ordered Judge Alvin Hellerstein to reconsider keeping the case in state court, saying he had not considered “important issues relevant” to the request."
Manhattan DA challenges Trump's appeal of his 2024 hush money conviction
ABC7 New York·July 29, 2026
"The district attorney's office argued “there is nothing official about paying off an adult film star to keep quiet.”"
Trump loses bid to transfer New York hush money case to federal court
CNBC·August 28, 2026
"Judge Hellerstein denied removal for the third time. Trump's lawyers filed a notice of appeal to the Second Circuit the same day."
Statement of Facts (PDF) is the prosecution's filing; the jury's verdict is what established the 34 counts.
Beyond the Documents
Further reading
Book-length reporting and first-person accounts that go deeper than any single document.
Confidence Man
Maggie Haberman · 2022
Decades of New York Times reporting on how Trump operates, from Queens to the White House.
Find it at Bookshop.org
Lucky Loser
Russ Buettner & Susanne Craig · 2024
Built on Trump's tax records by the New York Times reporters behind the Pulitzer-winning family-finances investigation.
Find it at Bookshop.org
Links go to Bookshop.org, which shares its sales with independent bookstores.