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Donald Trump has become the first current or former US president to be charged with a crime.

The 76-year-old has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records and conspiracy for his alleged role in hush money payments to two women towards the end of his 2016 presidential campaign.

A felony is usually defined as a crime punishable by a year or more in prison.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced Trump’s indictment on Tuesday at Manhattan Criminal Courthouse.

The indictment alleged that during the election, Trump and others employed a “catch and kill” scheme to identify, purchase, and bury negative information about him and boost his electoral prospects.

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The former president then went to great lengths to hide this conduct, prosecutors say, with dozens of false entries in business records to conceal criminal activity, including attempts to violate state and federal election laws.

Donald Trump arrives at Manhattan Criminal Courthouse
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Donald Trump arriving at Manhattan Criminal Courthouse

Three hush money payments

The charges accuse Trump of three different instances of making hush money payments to cover up alleged affairs.

From August 2015 to December 2017, Trump allegedly orchestrated his “catch and kill” scheme through a series of payments that he then concealed through months of false business entries.

In one instance, American Media Inc allegedly paid $30,000 (£24,000) to a former Trump Tower doorman, who claimed to have a story about a child Trump had out of wedlock.

In the second instance, AMI allegedly paid $150,000 (£120,000) to a woman who alleged she had a sexual relationship with Trump. When Trump directed a lawyer to reimburse AMI in cash, a special counsel indicated to him that the payment should be made via a shell company and not by cash, according to the charges. AMI ultimately declined to accept reimbursement.

In the third instance, 12 days before the presidential general election Trump’s special counsel allegedly wired $130,000 (£104,000) to a lawyer for an adult film actress.

After winning the election, Trump reimbursed the special counsel through a series of monthly cheques, first from the Donald J Trump Revocable Trust and later from his bank account, according to prosecutors.

In total, 11 cheques were allegedly issued for phoney purposes.

Donald Trump arrives at Manhattan Criminal Courthouse
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Donald Trump arriving at Manhattan Criminal Courthouse

Influencing the 2016 presidential election

From August 2015 to December 2017, Trump allegedly 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 electoral prospects.

Each count concerns one of the following – an entry in the Trump Revocable Trust’s Detail General Ledger, a cheque and cheque stub to Michael Cohen, and invoices from Cohen that are maintained in Trump Organisation records.

Although the larger catch-and-kill scheme and the Karen McDougal payment are described in the indictment, the actual charges appear to concern only those records intended to hide the payments to Michael Cohen for the Stormy Daniels settlement.

(L-R) Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal
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(L-R) Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal

‘Trail of money and lies’

After announcing the indictment, District Attorney Bragg said: “The People of the State of New York allege that Donald J Trump repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal crimes that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election.”

He added that Manhattan is home to the country’s “most significant business market”.

“We cannot allow New York businesses to manipulate their records to cover up criminal conduct. As the Statement of Facts describes, the trail of money and lies exposes a pattern that, the people allege, violates one of New York’s basic and fundamental business laws.

“As this office has done time and time again, we today uphold our solemn responsibility to ensure that everyone stands equal before the law,” he said.

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‘Trump repeatedly made false statements’

Taken together, the charges carry a maximum prison sentence of 136 years under New York law, though if Trump was convicted it would almost certainly be far less than that.

While falsifying business records in New York on its own is a misdemeanour 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.

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One dead, multiple injured, in shooting at US country club hosting wedding

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One dead, multiple injured, in shooting at US country club hosting wedding

A man has been killed and several other people injured in a shooting at a US country club hosting a wedding, police in New Hampshire have said.

Aerial pictures above the Sky Meadow Country Club in Nashua show emergency responders at the scene.

A suspect was detained at the scene by police officers who said “a single male had entered the club and fired several shots”.

Eyewitness reports said the country club was hosting a wedding, and diners were also eating at its restaurant when the suspect entered and began shooting people.

New Hampshire congresswoman Maggie Goodlander said in a statement she was “closely monitoring the tragic reports” and that her heart was with the victims, their families and the entire community.

Ambulances park outside a hotel acting as a reunification centre after the shooting. Pic: AP
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Ambulances park outside a hotel acting as a reunification centre after the shooting. Pic: AP

Pic: AP
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Pic: AP

At a news conference, Peter Hinkley, senior assistant attorney general of New Hampshire, said “people don’t think things like this happen on a Saturday night in Nashua in New Hampshire”.

Nashua is about 45 miles (70 kilometres) northwest of Boston, just across the Massachusetts border. It is the only city in America to be ranked Number 1 Best Place to Live by Money magazine twice.

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Forbes magazine ranked it America’s seventh most liveable city.

Attorney general John Formella and Nashua Police Department chief Kevin Rourke issued a statement:

“This evening officers responded to 911 calls from the Sky Meadow Country Club in Nashua for reports of gunshots.

“From investigation, a single adult male entered the club and fired several gunshots. One adult male was shot and killed, and several other people were wounded.”

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Ted Cruz blasts ‘mafioso’ threats over Jimmy Kimmel suspension

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Ted Cruz blasts 'mafioso' threats over Jimmy Kimmel suspension

American Senator Ted Cruz has broken ranks with fellow US conservatives and
hit out at talk show host Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension, saying it was “mafioso” behaviour.

Disney-owned ABC has been widely criticised after it pulled the long-standing host of Jimmy Kimmel Live following comments in his show about the alleged gunman charged with right-wing activist Charlie Kirk’s murder.

Kimmel implied the suspect was a Maga Republican, despite the man’s mother telling police he had “started to lean more to the left”.

As a result, Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr threatened Disney and local broadcasters with investigations and regulatory action if they aired Kimmel’s show – which led to dozens of local TV stations affiliated with ABC pulling it.

US President Donald Trump, who appointed Carr, lauded the decision.

But Mr Cruz criticised the threats as “dangerous as hell”.

“I got to say that’s right out of ‘Goodfellas’,” he said, evoking the Martin Scorsese gangster movie. “That’s right out of
a mafioso coming into a bar going, ‘Nice bar you have here.

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“It would be a shame if something happened to it’.”

Senator Ted Cruz. Pic: AP
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Senator Ted Cruz. Pic: AP

Explainer: What did Jimmy Kimmel say about Charlie Kirk?

The senator, a former constitutional lawyer, then adopted a broad mafioso accent to quote Mr Carr’s comments about broadcasters this week: “We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way.”

Mr Trump fired back, telling reporters in the Oval Office on Friday that he disagreed with Mr Cruz – one of the most
powerful Republicans in Congress – and calling Mr Carr “an incredible American patriot with courage.”

Demonstrations against his suspension have sprung up. Pic: AP
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Demonstrations against his suspension have sprung up. Pic: AP

The Texas senator’s remarks are a rare example of a prominent member of the president’s own party publicly
criticising the actions of the administration, highlighting deepening concerns over free-speech rights and Mr Trump’s threatened crackdowns.

Prominent Democrats and civil rights groups condemned the Trump administration’s pressure to punish Kimmel and others who speak negatively of the president.

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US talk show titans speak out

Kimmel’s fellow late-night hosts have rallied around him, as did former US president Barack Obama, who wrote on X: “After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like.

Barack Obama on Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2016. Pic: Susan Walsh/AP
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Barack Obama on Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2016. Pic: Susan Walsh/AP

“This is precisely the kind of government coercion that the First Amendment was designed to prevent, and media companies need to start standing up rather than capitulating it.”

Conservative activists had been angered by Kimmel’s comments on his show that they were using the assassination to score “political points”.

Right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk was shot dead on 10 September as he took part in a public debate at a college campus in Utah .

Tyler Robinson, 22, was charged with aggravated murder, weapon, and obstruction of justice offences.

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US talk show titans come out fighting after Kimmel cancellation

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US talk show titans come out fighting after Kimmel cancellation

US talk show host Stephen Colbert has condemned the cancellation of fellow late-night star Jimmy Kimmel as a “blatant assault on freedom of speech”, as America’s top late night presenters came out fighting.

He used the opening of Thursday night’s edition of his Late Show to address the pulling of Jimmy Kimmel Live over comments made about the assassination of the right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk.

Kimmel used his show earlier this week to accuse the Trump administration and its allies of “working very hard to capitalise on the murder of Charlie Kirk”, with the president among those to pin it on left-wing extremism.

The move by Disney-owned ABC has been widely criticised, with the network accused of kowtowing to President Donald Trump, who celebrated the decision.

Also airing on Thursday night, Jon Stewart, host of Comedy Central’s Daily Show, appeared in a garish gold set, in parody of Mr Trump’s redesign of the White House, to tell viewers the episode would be “another fun, hilarious, administration-compliant show”.

Stewart, playing the role of an over-the-top, politically obsequious TV host under authoritarian rule, lavished praise on the president and satirised his criticism of US cities and his deployment of the National Guard to fight crime.

“Coming to you tonight from the real […] crime-ridden cesspool that is New York City. It is a tremendous disaster like no-one’s ever seen before. Someone’s National Guard should invade this place, am I right?” he said.

He then introduced his guest – Maria Ressa, a journalist and author of the book How To Stand Up To A Dictator.

Jon Stewart. Pic: Associated Press
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Jon Stewart. Pic: Associated Press

Over at The Tonight Show, Jimmy Fallon told his audience he was “not sure what was going on” but that Kimmel is “a decent funny and loving guy and I hope he comes back”.

Fallon then promised viewers that in spite of people being “worried that we won’t keep saying what we want to say or that we will be censored”, he was going to cover the president’s recent trip to the UK “just like I normally would”.

He was then replaced by a voiceover describing Mr Trump as “incredibly handsome” and “making America great again”.

Jimmy Fallon on Thursday's Tonight Show. Pic: The Tonight Show X
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Jimmy Fallon on Thursday’s Tonight Show. Pic: The Tonight Show X

Seth Meyers also joined the fray.

“Donald Trump is on his way back from a trip to the UK,” he said at the top of his show Late Night, “while back here at home, his administration is pursuing a crackdown on free speech… and completely unrelated, I just wanted to say that I have always admired and respected Mr Trump.

“I have always believed he was a visionary, an innovator, a great president, and an even better golfer.”

Kimmel’s removal from the show he has hosted for two decades led to criticism that free speech was under attack.

But speaking on his visit to Britain, Donald Trump claimed he was suspended “because he had bad ratings”.

It came after fellow late-night host Colbert saw his programme cancelled earlier this year, which fans claimed was also down to his criticism of Mr Trump, who has since railed against Kimmel, Meyers, and Fallon.

He has posted on Truth Social that they should all be cancelled.

Jimmy Kimmel hosting last year's Oscars. Pic: AP
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Jimmy Kimmel hosting last year’s Oscars. Pic: AP

Figures from both the worlds of entertainment and politics lined up to lament ABC’s removal of Kimmel.

Chat show doyenne David Letterman said people should not be fired just because they don’t “suck up” to what he called “an authoritarian” president.

During an appearance at The Atlantic Festival 2025 in New York on Thursday night, he added: “It’s no good. It’s silly. It’s ridiculous.

“I feel bad about this, because we all see where see this is going, correct? It’s managed media.”

Barack Obama on Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2016. Pic: Susan Walsh/AP
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Barack Obama on Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2016. Pic: Susan Walsh/AP

Former US president Barack Obama wrote on X: “After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like.

“This is precisely the kind of government coercion that the First Amendment was designed to prevent, and media companies need to start standing up rather than capitulating it.”

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