What does Trump's indictment mean? Answers to questions about the former president's legal troubles

Donald Trump set an unenviable record while occupying the White House, becoming the first president to be impeached twice by the House of Representatives.

Now he's the first ex-president to be indicted.

Trump was arraigned in a New York state court Tuesday on 34 felony charges stemming from payments his attorney made shortly before the 2016 election to a porn actor who said she'd had an affair with Trump. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The indictment is just one of several legal cases Trump is facing. Here's a rundown of what's happening now, as well as other looming problems for the former president.

Why were New York City prosecutors investigating Trump?

Because Trump was accused of violating state law while in New York in 2016, when he was running for president.

One of Trump’s former attorneys, Michael Cohen, admitted in federal court that he paid $130,000 to porn actor Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election to keep her from talking about an affair she says she had with Trump. Cohen also admitted in court papers that Trump's New York City-based real estate business reimbursed him the next year but disguised the payments as a large monthly retainer.

Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels and paying her to stay quiet. One of his current lawyers has accused her of extorting money from him. The former president declined an invitation to testify before the Manhattan grand jury.

What are the charges?

Trump is accused of 34 separate violations of a New York law against falsifying business records to conceal another crime, a felony punishable by up to four years in state prison and a $5,000 fine. The charges relate to 11 checks written to Cohen in 2017, along with the invoices and account entries associated with them.

In a statement of facts about the case, Dist. Atty. Alvin Bragg Jr. alleged that the payments were part of a scheme led by Trump "that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election." As part of that scheme, the statement alleges, Trump and "Lawyer A" — Cohen — made payments either to buy the silence of or bury accusations made by a former Trump Tower doorman in 2015 and two unnamed women. The conspiracy also involved the editor in chief of the National Enquirer, who agreed to pay $30,000 to the doorman and $150,000 to one of the women not to discuss their accusations that Trump had engaged in extramarital affairs, the statement alleges.

That woman appears to be Karen McDougal, a former Playboy Playmate of the Year who sued the parent company of the National Enquirer in 2018 to be released from the contract that barred her from discussing the affair she says she had with Trump. As with Daniels, Trump denies having an affair with McDougal.

The charges in the indictment relate only to the payment Cohen has admitted making to the second woman, Daniels. The statement alleges that the Trump Organization paid Cohen back through monthly checks in 2017 that it characterized as a legal retainer, even though "there was no such retainer agreement" and Cohen rendered no services that year. Trump signed nine of the checks himself, the statement alleges; the other two were signed by one of Trump's sons and the Trump Organization's chief financial officer.

New York requires defendants to appear in person to be booked, which is why Trump flew to the city Monday for the arraignment Tuesday. Accompanied by Secret Service agents, he turned himself in at a Manhattan courthouse early Tuesday afternoon and reportedly was booked, but no mugshot was taken.

What happens next?

Under New York law, prosecutors have a little more than a month to share with Trump's defense team the relevant evidence they've gathered. The judge, Justice Juan Manuel Merchan, also laid out a schedule for motions to be considered, which will be the next major action in the case. The defense is expected to file a number of motions, including requests to dismiss the charges or, failing that, to move the case to a different venue.

The charges weren't serious enough to require Trump to post bail, and he'll be free to resume his campaign. His next court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 4, two months before the Iowa caucuses formally begin the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

Is there a statute of limitations on Trump's alleged crimes?

There is, but the time limit was extended because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, the clock stops when the defendant spends an extended amount of time away from New York; some legal analysts say that this would apply to Trump because of the four years he spent in the White House.

Does this have anything to do with the 2020 election?

No. These accusations relate to the 2016 election, which Trump won.

Isn’t Cohen a convicted liar?

Yes. In 2018, he pleaded guilty to lying to a bank about his debts in order to obtain a $500,000 home equity line of credit. He also pleaded guilty to five counts of tax evasion and, in connection to the hush money payments, two campaign finance law violations.

Who is Alvin Bragg?

Harvard-educated Bragg is the first Black district attorney for the borough of Manhattan, elected in 2021. Before that, he spent years as an attorney and prosecutor for the New York City Council and the state and federal governments.

Among other cases he has worked over the years, he oversaw the lawsuit by the New York attorney general that accused Trump's charity, the Donald J. Trump Foundation, of illegally acting as an arm of Trump's 2016 campaign. (The foundation dissolved in the wake of the suit.) Bragg also helped obtain the indictment of former Trump advisor Stephen K. Bannon on fraud charges for allegedly diverting donations that were supposed to be used to build a wall on the Mexican border. (Bannon also faced federal charges connected with the fundraising, but Trump, on his last full day in office, pardoned him.)

Didn’t Bragg already prosecute Trump?

No. New York prosecutors charged Trump’s business and payroll company with criminal tax fraud, winning convictions in December. Previously, they obtained guilty pleas from the Trump Organization’s longtime financial chief, Allen Weisselberg, on felonies related to the scheme.

Shortly after Bragg took office in 2022, he appeared to put the brakes on a criminal investigation into Trump’s business practices that had begun under his predecessor, Cyrus Vance Jr. Two prosecutors working on the probe — which explored whether Trump assigned fraudulent values to his properties when seeking loans, among other allegations — resigned in apparent protest.

What about New York state prosecutors?

The state attorney general, Letitia James, in September filed suit against Trump and several of his family members and businesses, as well as Weisselberg, accusing them of fraudulently inflating Trump’s net worth on official financial filings. The point of the scheme, the lawsuit alleges, was to help Trump obtain loans and insurance policies on better terms.

This a civil case seeking financial penalties, not a criminal case seeking jail terms. But James referred the matter to the IRS and the Justice Department for possible criminal charges, alleging that Trump violated federal laws against fraud and making false statements to financial institutions.

Isn't Merrick Garland prosecuting Trump?

Not at this point.

U.S. Atty. Gen. Garland appointed a special counsel to lead the Justice Department's investigation into whether Trump violated federal law by keeping some classified documents after leaving the presidency. The special counsel, Jack Smith, is also examining Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The much-publicized FBI search last year at the former president's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida related to the classified documents case.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing there or in connection with the events of Jan. 6.

Who else is pursuing charges against Trump?

One case that has made headlines is the investigation by a Fulton County, Ga., grand jury into an alleged attempt to interfere with the 2020 presidential election. This case revolves around post-election efforts by Trump and his supporters to reverse the outcome in Georgia, where Joe Biden narrowly won. Fulton County Dist. Atty. Fani Willis has not yet acted on the recommendations from the grand jury, which called for multiple indictments.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing in this case as well.

Would being arrested affect Trump’s ability to serve as president?

No. Even if he were convicted and sent to prison, Trump could serve as president — the U.S. Constitution requires only that a president be at least 35 years old, a “natural born citizen” and a resident of the U.S. for at least 14 years.

Any criminal charges against Trump would certainly affect his campaign. And if he were imprisoned, winning the 2024 election wouldn’t automatically cut short his sentence.

It's unclear how he would be able to discharge the duties of his office from a prison cell, which means the 25th Amendment could come into play. Under that, a president can hand off his duties temporarily to the vice president if he cannot perform them himself, or the duties can be taken from him if the vice president and a majority of top executive branch officials vote to do so.

Once in office, Trump could not be removed unless the House impeached him (for a third time) and the Senate convicted him (for the first time).

By the way, the Constitution doesn’t say whether the “high crimes and misdemeanors” required for impeachment can occur before a president takes office. In fact, it leaves it to Congress to decide what acts constitute impeachable offenses and when they must have occurred.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.