Donald Trump dömd för 34 punkter i Stormy Daniels-fallet, bokföringsbrott (2024-05-30)

CLAIM: “They’re falsifying business records. That sounds very bad. You know, it’s only a misdemeanor.”

THE FACTS: Trump was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. This is not a misdemeanor. It is a Class E felony in New York, the lowest tier of felony charges in the state.


CLAIM: “They missed the statute of limitations by a lot because this was very old. They could have brought this seven years ago instead of bringing it right in the middle of the election.”

THE FACTS: Judge Merchan in February denied a request from Trump’s legal team to dismiss the indictment on the grounds that the statute of limitations had passed, according to court documents.

In his decision, Merchan cited pandemic-era executive orders issued in March 2020 and April 2021 by former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo that extended the limit on filing criminal charges.

New York’s statute of limitations for most felonies is five years. The earliest charge in Trump's felony indictment was described as occurring on Feb. 14, 2017, while the indictment was filed on March 30, 2023.

But Cuomo's executive orders meant that the deadline for filing the charges in the indictment was extended by one year and 47 days, meaning that it was brought just under the wire.

In New York, the clock can also stop on the statute of limitations when a defendant is continuously outside the state. Trump visited New York rarely over the four years of his presidency and now lives mostly in Florida and New Jersey. Merchan did not address this argument in his decision.