A year ago, Trump was convicted of 34 felonies. What happened at the trial?
May 30 marks one year since President Donald Trump, then a former president and the presumptive Republican nominee, was convicted on criminal charges.
The New York case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg was the only of four cases brought against Trump that went to trial before he was elected for a second, nonconsecutive term. The jury's guilty verdicts after more than six weeks of testimony made history as Trump became the first former president to be convicted of a crime. It also makes him the first president elected with a criminal conviction.
Outside the courthouse, the trial became a political spectacle. Inside, people on the stand were getting emotional, contemptuous and saucy.
Here is a look back at the historic trial:
More: Trump trial sketches show a tearful Hope Hicks, indignant Stormy Daniels and 'Sleepy Don'
Trump was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records.
At the heart of the case is former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen's $130,000 payment to Daniels to stay quiet about an alleged 2006 sexual encounter with Trump ahead of the 2016 election. Cohen pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws in 2018 in relation to the payment. Trump denies Daniels' claim that they had sex in 2006 while he was married to Melania Trump.
Prosecutors argued that Trump falsified business records to conceal that crime, which would constitute a felony.
Much of the testimony set the scene for how Trump's campaign dealt with negative stories. Trump allies became concerned about his standing with women after the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape recording him talking about grabbing women's genitals came out in 2016, as a few witnesses testified.
In one of the most highly anticipated testimonies of the trial, porn star Stormy Daniels told jurors about the alleged affair.
Daniels' testimony included intimate details about the alleged sexual encounter with Trump in 2006 at a golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, including that he greeted her in silk or satin pajamas and had gold tweezers in his bathroom. She said the evening left her shaking, and that she didn't say no but, "didn't say anything at all."
Trump's defense lawyer Todd Blanche requested a mistrial after Daniels' testimony, saying portions of her testimony were "dog whistle for rape," and could make the jury prejudicial against Trump, which the judge denied.
During summations, to bolster the case that the hush money payment was a campaign finance law violation, a prosecutor said jurors might not care about the alleged encounter, but the American public should have been able to choose that for themselves ahead of the 2016 election.
The trial lasted for more than six weeks altogether, and more than 20 witnesses were called. Here are some of the big names who testified:
David Pecker, the former CEO and president of American Media Inc., the parent company of tabloid National Enquirer.
Rhona Graff, Donald Trump's former executive assistant.
Keith Davidson, a lawyer who represented former Playboy model Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels in their 2016 hush money deals.
Hope Hicks, the Trump 2016 presidential campaign press secretary and later the communications director in Trump's White House starting in September 2017.
Stormy Daniels, who claims she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006 and was paid to keep quiet about it ahead of the 2016 election.
Michael Cohen, former lawyer and political fixer for Trump.
Robert Costello, a republican lawyer with ties to Trump's legal team.
Trump himself did not testify at the trial.
Judge Juan Merchan held Trump in criminal contempt for multiple gag order violations.
Merchan had issued a gag order prohibiting Trump from publicly commenting on the participation of potential witnesses, court staff, prosecutors and family members of the court.
In the first week of the trial, prosecutors told Merchan that Trump had violated the order a total of 10 times with posts on Truth Social and Trump's campaign website.
"This Court's Expanded Order is lawful and unambiguous," Merchan wrote in his decision. "Defendant violated the Order by making social media posts about known witnesses pertaining to their participation in this criminal proceeding and by making public statements about jurors in this criminal proceeding."
While Trump was under a gag order himself, that didn't stop his supporters from coming out to publicly bemoan the trial. Several Republican officials traveled to Manhattan to bash the judge, the witnesses and the case.
Among those who made appearances at the courthouse was Vice President JD Vance; at the time an Ohio senator on the shortlist to be picked to be Trump's running mate. Former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz (later initially nominated by Trump for U.S. attorney general), Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida. and Ken Paxton, the attorney general of Texas also attended the trial.
"The president is expected to sit here for six weeks to listen to the Michael Cohens of the world," Vance posted on X while attending the trial. "I'm now convinced the main goal of this trial is psychological torture. But Trump is in great spirits."
Contributing: Bart Jansen, USA TODAY
Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kcrowley@gannett.com. Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @kinseycrowley.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Trump hush money trial: What happened before guilty verdict?
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