Expert: Trump pleads not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records

Donald Trump, the former U.S. president and front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination, pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records after an investigation into hush money paid to a porn star. While falsifying business records in New York on its own is a misdemeanor punishable by no more than one year in prison, it is elevated to a felony punishable by up to four years in prison when done to advance or conceal another crime. (CBC News)

Here is an expert from McGill University that can provide comment on this issue:

Jason Opal, Full Professor, Department of History and Classical Studies

"Donald Trump's indictment is without precedent in the political history of the United States. However, the indictment itself follows logically and predictably from long-term investigations into his business practices in the state of New York; indeed, the Trump Organization was found guilty in December 2022 of falsifying business records and in January of this year of tax fraud. The big question is whether Trump's allies in Congress and his fervent supporters on the internet and in the streets will try to stop the normal legal processes related to the alleged crimes."

Jason Opal is a Full Professor in the Department of History and Classical Studies. His work tries to integrate social, cultural, and intellectual history and to shed light on such broad topics as nationalism, capitalism, democracy, and U.S.-Canada foreign relations.

jason.opal [at] mcgill.ca (English, French)