Catch and Kill
.
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
COUNTY OF NEW YORK
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
STATEMENT OF FACTS
IND-71543-23
-against-
DONALD J. TRUMP,
Defendant.
INTRODUCTION
- The defendant DONALD J. TRUMP repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New
York business records to conceal criminal conduct that hid damaging information from the
voting public during the 2016 presidential election. - From August 2015 to December 2017, the Defendant 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 order to execute the unlawful scheme, the participants violated election laws and made and caused false entries in the business records of various entities in New York. The participants also took steps that mischaracterized, for tax purposes, the true nature of the payments made in furtherance of the scheme. - One component of this scheme was that, at the Defendant’s request, a lawyer who
then worked for the Trump Organization as Special Counsel to Defendant (“Lawyer A”),
covertly paid $130,000 to an adult film actress shortly before the election to prevent her from
publicizing a sexual encounter with the Defendant. Lawyer A made the $130,000 payment
through a shell corporation he set up and funded at a bank in Manhattan. This payment was
illegal, and Lawyer A has since pleaded guilty to making an illegal campaign contribution and
served time in prison. Further, false entries were made in New York business records to
effectuate this payment, separate and apart from the New York business records used to conceal
the payment. - After the election, the Defendant reimbursed Lawyer A for the illegal payment
through a series of monthly checks, first from the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust (the
“Defendant’s Trust”)—a Trust created under the laws of New York which held the Trump
Organization entity assets after the Defendant was elected President—and then from the
Defendant’s bank account. Each check was processed by the Trump Organization, and each
check was disguised as a payment for legal services rendered in a given month of 2017 pursuant
to a retainer agreement. The payment records, kept and maintained by the Trump Organization,
were false New York business records. In truth, there was no retainer agreement, and Lawyer A
was not being paid for legal services rendered in 2017. The Defendant caused his entities’
business records to be falsified to disguise his and others’ criminal conduct.
BACKGROUND
- The Defendant is the beneficial owner of a collection of business entities known
by the trade name the Trump Organization. The Trump Organization comprises approximately
500 separate entities that, among other business activities, own and manage hotels, golf courses,
commercial real estate, condominium developments, and other properties. The Trump
Organization is headquartered at 725 Fifth Avenue in New York County. - From approximately June 2015 to November 2016, the Defendant was a candidate
for the office of President of the United States. On January 20, 2017, he became President of the
United States.
THE SCHEME
The Catch and Kill Scheme to Suppress Negative Information
7. During and in furtherance of his candidacy for President, the Defendant and
others agreed to identify and suppress negative stories about him. Two parties to this agreement
have admitted to committing illegal conduct in connection with the scheme. In August 2018,
Lawyer A pleaded guilty to two federal crimes involving illegal campaign contributions, and
subsequently served time in prison. In addition, in August 2018, American Media, Inc. (“AMI”),
a media company that owned and published magazines and supermarket tabloids including the
National Enquirer, admitted in a non-prosecution agreement that it made a payment to a source
of a story to ensure that the source “did not publicize damaging allegations” about the Defendant
“before the 2016 presidential election and thereby influence that election.”
- The 2015 Trump Tower Meeting
-
In June 2015, the Defendant announced his candidacy for President of the United
States. -
Soon after, in August 2015, the Defendant met with Lawyer A and AMI’s
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (the “AMI CEO”) at Trump Tower in New York County.
At the meeting, the AMI CEO agreed to help with the Defendant’s campaign, saying that he
would act as the “eyes and ears” for the campaign by looking out for negative stories about the
Defendant and alerting Lawyer A before the stories were published. The AMI CEO also agreed
to publish negative stories about the Defendant’s competitors for the election. - Suppressing the Doorman’s Story
-
A few months later, in or about October or November 2015, the AMI CEO
learned that a former Trump Tower doorman (the “Doorman”) was trying to sell information
regarding a child that the Defendant had allegedly fathered out of wedlock. At the AMI CEO’s
direction, AMI negotiated and signed an agreement to pay the Doorman $30,000 to acquire
exclusive rights to the story. AMI falsely characterized this payment in AMI’s books and
records, including in its general ledger. AMI purchased the information from the Doorman
without fully investigating his claims, but the AMI CEO directed that the deal take place because
of his agreement with the Defendant and Lawyer A. -
When AMI later concluded that the story was not true, the AMI CEO wanted to
release the Doorman from the agreement. However, Lawyer A instructed the AMI CEO not to
release the Doorman until after the presidential election, and the AMI CEO complied with that
instruction because of his agreement with the Defendant and Lawyer A. - Suppressing Woman 1’s Account
-
About five months before the presidential election, in or about June 2016, the
editor-in-chief of the National Enquirer and AMI’s Chief Content Officer (the “AMI Editor-in-
Chief”) contacted Lawyer A about a woman (“Woman 1”) who alleged she had a sexual
relationship with the Defendant while he was married. The AMI Editor-in-Chief updated
Lawyer A regularly about the matter over text message and by telephone. The Defendant did not
want this information to become public because he was concerned about the effect it could have
on his candidacy. Thereafter, the Defendant, the AMI CEO, and Lawyer A had a series of
discussions about who should pay off Woman 1 to secure her silence. -
AMI ultimately paid $150,000 to Woman 1 in exchange for her agreement not to
speak out about the alleged sexual relationship, as well as for two magazine cover features of
Woman 1 and a series of articles that would be published under her byline. AMI falsely
characterized this payment in AMI’s books and records, including in its general ledger. The
AMI CEO agreed to the deal after discussing it with both the Defendant and Lawyer A, and on
the understanding from Lawyer A that the Defendant or the Trump Organization would
reimburse AMI. -
In a conversation captured in an audio recording in approximately September
2016 concerning Woman 1’s account, the Defendant and Lawyer A discussed how to obtain the
rights to Woman 1’s account from AMI and how to reimburse AMI for its payment. Lawyer A
told the Defendant he would open up a company for the transfer of Woman 1’s account and other
information, and stated that he had spoken to the Chief Financial Officer for the Trump
Organization (the “TO CFO”) about “how to set the whole thing up.” The Defendant asked, “So
what do we got to pay for this? One fifty?” and suggested paying by cash. When Lawyer A
disagreed, the Defendant then mentioned payment by check. After the conversation, Lawyer A
created a shell company called Resolution Consultants, LLC on or about September 30, 2016. -
Less than two months before the election, on or about September 30, 2016, the
AMI CEO signed an agreement in which AMI agreed to transfer its rights to Woman 1’s account
to Lawyer A’s shell company for $125,000. However, after the assignment agreement was
signed but before the reimbursement took place, the AMI CEO consulted with AMI’s general
counsel and then told Lawyer A that the deal to transfer the rights to Lawyer A’s shell company
was off. - Suppressing Woman 2’s Account
-
About one month before the election, on or about October 7, 2016, news broke
that the Defendant had been caught on tape saying to the host of Access Hollywood: “I just start
kissing them [women]. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star,
they let you do it. You can do anything. . . . Grab ’em by the [genitals]. You can do anything.”
The evidence shows that both the Defendant and his campaign staff were concerned that the tape
would harm his viability as a candidate and reduce his standing with female voters in particular. -
Shortly after the Access Hollywood tape became public, the AMI Editor-in-Chief
contacted the AMI CEO about another woman (“Woman 2”) who alleged she had a sexual
encounter with the Defendant while he was married. The AMI CEO told the AMI Editor-in-
Chief to notify Lawyer A. -
On or about October 10, 2016, the AMI Editor-in-Chief connected Lawyer A with
Woman 2’s lawyer (“Lawyer B”). Lawyer A then negotiated a deal with Lawyer B to secure
Woman 2’s silence and prevent disclosure of the damaging information in the final weeks before
the presidential election. Under the deal that Lawyer B negotiated, Woman 2 would be paid
$130,000 for the rights to her account. -
The Defendant directed Lawyer A to delay making a payment to Woman 2 as
long as possible. He instructed Lawyer A that if they could delay the payment until after the
election, they could avoid paying altogether, because at that point it would not matter if the story
became public. As reflected in emails and text messages between and among Lawyer A, Lawyer
B, and the AMI Editor-in-Chief, Lawyer A attempted to delay making payment as long as
possible. -
Ultimately, with pressure mounting and the election approaching, the Defendant
agreed to the payoff and directed Lawyer A to proceed. Lawyer A discussed the deal with the
Defendant and the TO CFO. The Defendant did not want to make the $130,000 payment
himself, and asked Lawyer A and the TO CFO to find a way to make the payment. After
discussing various payment options with the TO CFO, Lawyer A agreed he would make the
payment. Before making the payment, Lawyer A confirmed with the Defendant that Defendant
would pay him back. -
On or about October 26, shortly after speaking with the Defendant on the phone,
Lawyer A opened a bank account in Manhattan in the name of Essential Consultants LLC, a new
shell company he had created to effectuate the payment. He then transferred $131,000 from his
personal home equity line of credit (“HELOC”) into that account. On or about October 27,
Lawyer A wired $130,000 from his Essential Consultants LLC account in New York to Lawyer
B to suppress Woman 2’s account. - Post-Election Communications with AMI CEO
-
On November 8, 2016, the Defendant won the presidential election and became
the President-Elect. Thereafter, AMI released both the doorman and Woman 1 from their non-
disclosure agreements.
23. The Defendant was inaugurated as President on January 20, 2017. Between
Election Day and Inauguration Day, during the period of the Defendant’s transition to his role as
President, the Defendant met with the AMI CEO privately in Trump Tower in Manhattan. The
Defendant thanked the AMI CEO for handling the stories of the Doorman and Woman 1, and
invited the AMI CEO to the Inauguration. In the summer of 2017, the Defendant invited the
AMI CEO to the White House for a dinner to thank him for his help during the campaign. - The Defendant Falsified Business Records
-
Shortly after being elected President, the Defendant arranged to reimburse
Lawyer A for the payoff he made on the Defendant’s behalf. In or around January 2017, the TO
CFO and Lawyer A met to discuss how Lawyer A would be reimbursed for the money he paid to
ensure Woman 2’s silence. The TO CFO asked Lawyer A to bring a copy of a bank statement
for the Essential Consultants account showing the $130,000 payment. -
The TO CFO and Lawyer A agreed to a total repayment amount of $420,000.
They reached that figure by adding the $130,000 payment to a $50,000 payment for another
expense for which Lawyer A also claimed reimbursement, for a total of $180,000. The TO CFO
then doubled that amount to $360,000 so that Lawyer A could characterize the payment as
income on his tax returns, instead of a reimbursement, and Lawyer A would be left with
$180,000 after paying approximately 50% in income taxes. Finally, the TO CFO added an
additional $60,000 as a supplemental year-end bonus. Together, these amounts totaled
$420,000. The TO CFO memorialized these calculations in handwritten notes on the copy of the
bank statement that Lawyer A had provided. -
The Defendant, the TO CFO, and Lawyer A then agreed that Lawyer A would be
paid the $420,000 through twelve monthly payments of $35,000 over the course of 2017. Each
month, Lawyer A was to send an invoice to the Defendant through Trump Organization
employees, falsely requesting payment of $35,000 for legal services rendered in a given month
of 2017 pursuant to a retainer agreement. At no point did Lawyer A have a retainer agreement
with the Defendant or the Trump Organization. -
In early February 2017, the Defendant and Lawyer A met in the Oval Office at the
White House and confirmed this repayment arrangement. -
On or about February 14, 2017, Lawyer A emailed the Controller of the Trump
Organization (the “TO Controller”) the first monthly invoice, which stated: “Pursuant to the
retainer agreement, kindly remit payment for services rendered for the months of January and
February, 2017.” The invoice requested payment in the amount of $35,000 for each of those two
months. The TO CFO approved the payment, and, in turn, the TO Controller sent the invoice to
the Trump Organization Accounts Payable Supervisor (the “TO Accounts Payable Supervisor”)
with the following instructions: “Post to legal expenses. Put ‘retainer for the months of January
and February 2017’ in the description.” -
Lawyer A submitted ten similar monthly invoices by email to the Trump
Organization for the remaining months in 2017. Each invoice falsely stated that it was being
submitted “[p]ursuant to the retainer agreement,” and falsely requested “payment for services
rendered” for a month of 2017. In fact, there was no such retainer agreement and Lawyer A was
not being paid for services rendered in any month of 2017. -
The TO Controller forwarded each invoice to the TO Accounts Payable
Supervisor. Consistent with the TO Controller’s initial instructions, the TO Accounts Payable
Supervisor printed out each invoice and marked it with an accounts payable stamp and the
general ledger code “51505” for legal expenses. The Trump Organization maintained the
invoices as records of expenses paid. -
As instructed, the TO Accounts Payable Supervisor recorded each payment in the
Trump Organization’s electronic accounting system, falsely describing it as a “legal expense”
pursuant to a retainer agreement for a month of 2017. The Trump Organization maintained a
digital entry for each expense, called a “voucher,” and these vouchers, like vouchers for other
expenses, became part of the Trump Organization’s general ledgers. -
The TO Accounts Payable Supervisor then prepared checks with attached check
stubs for approval and signature. The first check was paid from the Defendant’s Trust and
signed by the TO CFO and the Defendant’s son, as trustees. The check stub falsely recorded the
payment as “Retainer for 1/1-1/31/17” and “Retainer for 2/1-2/28/17.” The second check, for
March 2017, was also paid from the Trust and signed by two trustees. The check stub falsely
recorded the payment as “Retainer for 3/1-3/31/17.” -
The remaining nine checks, corresponding to the months of April through
December of 2017, were paid by the Defendant personally. Each of the checks was cut from the
Defendant’s bank account and sent, along with the corresponding invoices from Lawyer A, from
the Trump Organization in New York County to the Defendant in Washington, D.C. The checks
and stubs bearing the false statements were stapled to the invoices also bearing false statements.
The Defendant signed each of the checks personally and had them sent back to the Trump
Organization in New York County. There, the checks, the stubs, and the invoices were scanned
and maintained in the Trump Organization’s data system before the checks themselves were
detached and mailed to Lawyer A for payment. - The $35,000 payments stopped after the December 2017 payment.
III. The Investigation into Lawyer A and the Defendant’s Pressure Campaign
-
On or about April 9, 2018, the FBI executed a search warrant on Lawyer A’s
residences and office. In the months that followed, the Defendant and others engaged in a public
and private pressure campaign to ensure that Lawyer A did not cooperate with law enforcement
in the federal investigation. -
On the day of the FBI searches, Lawyer A called to speak with the Defendant to
let him know what had occurred. In a return call, the Defendant told Lawyer A to “stay strong.” -
On or about April 21, 2018, the Defendant publicly commented on Twitter
encouraging Lawyer A not to “flip,” stating, “Most people will flip if the Government lets them
out of trouble, even if . . . it means lying or making up stories. Sorry, I don’t see [Lawyer A]
doing that . . . .” -
In mid-April 2018, Lawyer A was also approached by an attorney (“Lawyer C”),
who offered to represent him in the interest of maintaining a “back channel of communication”
to the Defendant. On or about April 21, 2018, Lawyer C emailed Lawyer A, highlighting that he
had a close relationship with the Defendant’s personal attorney (“Lawyer D”) and stating,
“[T]his could not be a better situation for the President or you.” Later that day, Lawyer C
emailed Lawyer A again, writing, “I spoke with [Lawyer D]. Very Very Positive. You are
‘loved.’ . . . [Lawyer D] said this communication channel must be maintained. . . . Sleep well
tonight, you have friends in high places.” -
On or about June 14, 2018, Lawyer C emailed Lawyer A a news clip discussing
the possibility of Lawyer A cooperating, and continued to urge him not to cooperate with law
enforcement, writing, “The whole objective of this exercise by the [federal prosecutors] is to
drain you, emotionally and financially, until you reach a point that you see them as your only
means to salvation.” In the same email , Lawyer C, wrote, “You are making a very big mistake
if you believe the stories these ‘journalists’ are writing about you. They want you to cave. They
want you to fail. They do not want you to persevere and succeed.” -
On August 21, 2018, Lawyer A pleaded guilty in the federal investigation. The
next day, on or about August 22, 2018, the Defendant commented on Twitter, “If anyone is
looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you don’t retain the services of [Lawyer
A]!” Later that day, the Defendant posted to Twitter again, stating, “I feel very badly for” one of
his former campaign managers who had been criminally charged, saying, “[U]nlike [Lawyer A],
he refused to ‘break’ – make up stories in order to get a ‘deal.’” -
Lawyer A and AMI Admit Guilt in Connection with Payoffs of Woman 1 and
Woman 2 -
Ultimately, other participants in the scheme admitted that the payoffs were
unlawful. -
In or about September 2018, AMI entered into a non-prosecution agreement with
the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York in connection with
AMI’s payoff of Woman 1, admitting that “[a]t no time during the negotiation or acquisition of
[Woman 1’s] story did AMI intend to publish the story or disseminate information about it
Defendant’s bank account and sent, along with the corresponding invoices from Lawyer A, from
the Trump Organization in New York County to the Defendant in Washington, D.C. The checks
and stubs bearing the false statements were stapled to the invoices also bearing false statements.
The Defendant signed each of the checks personally and had them sent back to the Trump
Organization in New York County. There, the checks, the stubs, and the invoices were scanned
and maintained in the Trump Organization’s data system before the checks themselves were
detached and mailed to Lawyer A for payment. - The $35,000 payments stopped after the December 2017 payment.
III. The Investigation into Lawyer A and the Defendant’s Pressure Campaign
-
On or about April 9, 2018, the FBI executed a search warrant on Lawyer A’s
residences and office. In the months that followed, the Defendant and others engaged in a public
and private pressure campaign to ensure that Lawyer A did not cooperate with law enforcement
in the federal investigation. -
On the day of the FBI searches, Lawyer A called to speak with the Defendant to
let him know what had occurred. In a return call, the Defendant told Lawyer A to “stay strong.” -
On or about April 21, 2018, the Defendant publicly commented on Twitter
encouraging Lawyer A not to “flip,” stating, “Most people will flip if the Government lets them
out of trouble, even if . . . it means lying or making up stories. Sorry, I don’t see [Lawyer A]
doing that . . . .” -
In mid-April 2018, Lawyer A was also approached by an attorney (“Lawyer C”),
who offered to represent him in the interest of maintaining a “back channel of communication”
to the Defendant. On or about April 21, 2018, Lawyer C emailed Lawyer A, highlighting that he
had a close relationship with the Defendant’s personal attorney (“Lawyer D”) and stating,
“[T]his could not be a better situation for the President or you.” Later that day, Lawyer C
11 emailed Lawyer A again, writing, “I spoke with [Lawyer D]. Very Very Positive. You are
‘loved.’ . . . [Lawyer D] said this communication channel must be maintained. . . . Sleep well
tonight, you have friends in high places.”
- On or about June 14, 2018, Lawyer C emailed Lawyer A a news clip discussing
the possibility of Lawyer A cooperating, and continued to urge him not to cooperate with law
enforcement, writing, “The whole objective of this exercise by the [federal prosecutors] is to
drain you, emotionally and financially, until you reach a point that you see them as your only
means to salvation.” In the same email , Lawyer C, wrote, “You are making a very big mistake
if you believe the stories these ‘journalists’ are writing about you. They want you to cave. They
want you to fail. They do not want you to persevere and succeed.” - On August 21, 2018, Lawyer A pleaded guilty in the federal investigation. The
next day, on or about August 22, 2018, the Defendant commented on Twitter, “If anyone is
looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you don’t retain the services of [Lawyer
A]!” Later that day, the Defendant posted to Twitter again, stating, “I feel very badly for” one of
his former campaign managers who had been criminally charged, saying, “[U]nlike [Lawyer A],
he refused to ‘break’ – make up stories in order to get a ‘deal.’”
IV. Lawyer A and AMI Admit Guilt in Connection with Payoffs of Woman 1 and
Woman 2 - Ultimately, other participants in the scheme admitted that the payoffs were
unlawful.
42. In or about September 2018, AMI entered into a non-prosecution agreement with
the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York in connection with
AMI’s payoff of Woman 1, admitting that “[a]t no time during the negotiation or acquisition of
[Woman 1’s] story did AMI intend to publish the story or disseminate information about it
publicly.” Rather, AMI admitted that it made the payment to ensure that Woman 1 “did not
publicize damaging allegations” about the Defendant “before the 2016 presidential election and
thereby influence that election.” - In August 21, 2018, Lawyer A pleaded guilty to a felony in connection with his
role in AMI’s payoff to Woman 1, admitting in his guilty plea that he had done so at the
Defendant’s direction:
[O]n or about the summer of 2016, in coordination with, and at the direction
of, a candidate for federal office, I and the CEO of a media company at the
request of the candidate worked together to keep an individual with information
that would be harmful to the candidate and to the campaign from publicly
disclosing this information. After a number of discussions, we eventually
accomplished the goal by the media company entering into a contract with the
individual under which she received compensation of $150,000. I participated in
this conduct, which on my part took place in Manhattan, for the principal purpose
of influencing the election.
(emphasis added). - Lawyer A also pleaded guilty to a felony in connection with his payoff of Woman
2 to secure her silence, again at the Defendant’s direction. Lawyer A admitted as part of his
guilty plea:
[O]n or about October of 2016, in coordination with, and at the direction of,
the same candidate, I arranged to make a payment to a second individual with
information that would be harmful to the candidate and to the campaign to keep
the individual from disclosing the information. To accomplish this, I used a
company that was under my control to make a payment in the sum of $130,000.
The monies I advanced through my company were later repaid to me by the
candidate. I participated in this conduct, which on my part took place in
Manhattan, for the principal purpose of influencing the election.
(emphasis added).1
1 This Statement of Facts contains certain of the information that is relevant to the events
described herein, and does not contain all facts relevant to the charged conduct.
DATED: New York, New York
April 4, 2023
ALVIN L. BRAGG, JR.
District Attorney
New York County
Leave a Reply