The Trump trial is not focused on hush money, but on concealing it within business records

Former President Donald Trump is facing legal trouble over a $130,000 payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in exchange for a non-disclosure agreement. However, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has raised the stakes by alleging that Trump falsified business records to hide the payment, turning the charges into felonies.

Bragg claims that the core issue is not about the money for sex, but rather about conspiring to corrupt a presidential election and then lying in business records to cover it up. The payments to Daniels and another woman, Karen McDougal, were part of a strategy to prevent them from sharing their stories, known as a “catch-and-kill” tactic.

Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, has testified that he arranged the payment to Daniels and was reimbursed by Trump through a series of monthly payments totaling $420,000. Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations in a federal case and served time in prison.

Trump has maintained that the payments were for a non-disclosure agreement and were not related to his presidential campaign. He argues that the payment was a retainer for Cohen’s services and a private contract between two parties.

The legal battle surrounding the hush money payments is heating up as Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. The outcome of this trial could have significant implications for the former president’s political future.