In a Manhattan courtroom, Trump is charged with 34 felonies and enters a not guilty plea.

In an indictment that was released on Tuesday, a New York grand jury charged former president Donald Trump with 34 felonies for falsifying company records. Prosecutors described an alleged years-long plan to utilise "hush money" payments to bury negative material before the 2016 election.

Trump entered a not guilty plea to the charges during a hearing in a lower Manhattan courthouse, making him the first former president to be charged with a crime. It was a historic, carefully staged presentation that adhered to rigorous security regulations. He has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and said that Democratic District Attorney Alvin Bragg's pursuit of the case is driven by political considerations.

Prosecutors claimed that Trump "orchestrated a scheme with others to influence the 2016 presidential election by identifying and purchasing negative information about him to suppress its publication and benefit the Defendant's electoral prospects" in a 16-page indictment and accompanying statement of facts.

According to them, three payments were made by Trump's allies as part of the conspiracy to cover up negative news: $150,000 to a former Playboy model who said she had an affair with Trump; $30,000 to a former Trump Tower doorman who claimed Trump had fathered a kid out of wedlock; and $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels who also claimed an affair. Trump has denied having extramarital relationships with both women, and the business that employed the former doorman found his claims to be untrue.

In the weeks leading up to the 2016 election, Daniels received the payment from Michael Cohen, Trump's longtime attorney and "fixer." According to the prosecution, Trump improperly classified his payments to Cohen as legal costs in order to conceal them.

The Trump Organization kept and maintained phoney New York company records for payments. In reality, there was no retainer agreement, and Cohen was not compensated for legal services provided in 2017, according to the statement of facts. In order to hide his and others' illicit activity, the defendant "ordered the business records of his organisations to be forged."

According to New York law, falsifying corporate documents is normally a misdemeanour, but if done with "purpose to deceive [that] includes an intent to commit another crime or to facilitate or conceal the commission thereof," it may be charged as a felony. Trump's actions, according to the prosecution, were intended to break electoral laws.