Former United States President Donald Trump faced a highly publicised trial in New York over allegations of hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal.
The trial, which began on April 15, 2024, and concluded on May 31, 2024, resulted in Trump being found guilty of falsifying business records to conceal the payments.
Here is a detailed timeline of the key events leading up to and during the trial:
Timeline of Events
2006
Donald Trump allegedly has an affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels shortly after marrying Melania Trump.
2007
Stormy Daniels appears in the Hollywood movie “Knocked Up” and allegedly shares details of her affair with Trump with those on set.
2011
Daniels gives an interview to the tabloid “InTouch,” exposing her affair with Trump.
2016
Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, reimburses Stormy Daniels $130,000 in hush money to silence her about the alleged affair. Daniels signs a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) just days before the 2016 presidential election.
2018
- January: The Wall Street Journal reports that Trump allegedly paid Daniels $130,000 in hush money through Cohen.
- February 13: Cohen confirms the payment but claims it was from his own funds.
- March 6: Daniels sues Trump to invalidate the NDA.
- April 5: Trump denies knowledge of Cohen’s payment to Daniels.
- April 9: Federal authorities raid Cohen’s offices in New York as part of an investigation.
- May 3: Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s new lawyer, tells Fox News that Trump reimbursed Cohen for the hush money.
- May 3: Trump acknowledges paying Cohen a monthly retainer to manage NDAs, which he claims are “very common among celebrities and people of wealth.”
- August 21: Michael Cohen pleads guilty to federal charges related to the hush money payments.
- December 12: Cohen is sentenced to three years in prison for his role in the scandal.
2023
A grand jury is convened in Manhattan to investigate Trump’s hush money payment to Stormy Daniels.
- March 13: Michael Cohen testifies before the Manhattan grand jury.
- March 29: The grand jury indicts Trump on state charges, alleging he fabricated internal company records to conceal the true purpose of the payments to Cohen. This indictment makes Trump the first former president to be charged with a crime
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2024
- April 15: Trump’s trial begins in Manhattan.
- May 16: Michael Cohen testifies against Trump, providing crucial evidence in the trial.
- May 30: Trump is found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records by a jury in New York.
- July 11: Trump is scheduled to be sentenced.