By Athena Papakosta

He declared himself innocent Donald Trump and the 34 felony charges against him for falsifying business records in what prosecutors allege was a conspiracy to withhold information, marking the first time in United States history that a former president has been charged in a criminal case.

Donald Trump’s indictment has been unsealed. The former US president was charged with 34 counts of falsification of professional documents in the first degree.

Donald Trump conspired to undermine the 2016 presidential election by trying to suppress information that could hurt his candidacy with a series of bribery payments, according to prosecutors.

The payments were made to two women — including adult film actress Stormy Daniels — who claimed they had sex with him and to a Trump Tower janitor for a story alleging Trump had fathered a child out of wedlock.

All 34 charges against Trump are linked to a series of checks to his then-lawyer Michael Cohen to reimburse him for his role in paying Daniels. These payments were made over a 12-month period and were recorded in various internal documents as payment for legal services rendered pursuant to a non-existent agreement. Nine of the monthly checks were paid from Trump’s personal accounts, but records related to them were kept in the Trump Organization’s data system.

According to prosecutors, the first payment was made in the fall of 2015 when a former janitor at Trump Tower was trying to sell a story about a child the former US president had out of wedlock. David Packer, General Counsel of American Media Inc and CEO of the National Enquirer tabloid, allegedly paid the gatekeeper $30,000 to keep his mouth shut.

The doorman’s story turned out to be false, but Donald Trump’s confidential lawyer instructed Packer — who acted as the Trump campaign’s eyes and ears for negative stories against the then-presidential candidate — not to release him from the deal until after the elections.

The investigation also concerns the fat fees to the Stormy Daniels ($130,000) but also to a former Playboy model which is said to be Karen McDougall ($150,000). Both women admit to having had sexual relations with the married Donald Trump many years before he was elected the 45th president of the United States. For his part, Trump denies that he had sexual relations with them and that he committed any crime with the payments.

Donald Trump has been released without bail. The judge did not ban him from speaking publicly but warned him that he would review his decision if he continued his inflammatory rhetoric.

The former American president may have been serious and cooperative in court, but before entering it he raised his fist to gathered supporters while, earlier, while on the way, he had managed to make a post on his Social Media, Truth Social. In this post he wrote that he will be arrested and that he can’t believe this is happening in America to add to his slogan “Make America Great Again”.

He was again wearing his familiar blue suit, also paired with a red tie. He looked angry. Immediately after leaving court in Manhattan, he went directly to LaGuardia Airport and flew to Florida to speak publicly about the indictment.

Donald Trump is due back in court in December but his lawyers have asked him not to appear in person due to security measures. At the same time, a trial is scheduled for January 2014, just weeks before the first votes in the Republican primaries.