As the curtain rises on the criminal trial of former President Donald Trump in New York, it signifies the end of a lengthy investigation and the beginning of a new chapter in a saga that traces back to an alleged affair in 2006.
This narrative intertwines elements of presidential politics, sensational tabloid stories, and the intricate details of corporate finances. The trial will showcase a diverse ensemble of characters, some widely recognized while others are making their debut in the spotlight.
Below are some of the central figures to be acquainted with as the first ever criminal trial involving a former president commences.
The accused and crucial witnesses
Donald Trump
Trump, having clinched the Republican presidential nomination once more, stands as the defendant in the trial, facing 34 felony charges related to falsifying business records. He entered a plea of not guilty during his arraignment on April 4, 2023. Subsequently, he has vehemently criticized the prosecutors and the judge, alleging a conspiracy aimed at his political detriment.
Prosecutors say he took part in a scheme to conceal reimbursements to his then-lawyer, who paid $130,000 in "hush money" to adult film star Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 presidential election. Daniels alleged she had an affair with Trump in 2006, which he denies. She signed a strict non-disclosure agreement in exchange for the money.
Trump has said he would be willing to testify, but it is unclear if his lawyers will call him to the stand.
Michael Cohen
Cohen is the former lawyer whose payment is at the center of the case.
The 34 charges against Trump represent 11 invoices, 11 checks and 12 Trump Organization ledger entries that all allegedly characterized reimbursements from Trump to Cohen as monthly payments for ongoing legal services in 2017 and 2018.
Prosecutors allege that in fact they were reimbursements for $130,000 Cohen paid to the adult film star in 2016. The reimbursements totaled $420,000, prosecutors said, allowing Cohen to recoup tax losses and walk away with a bonus. Cohen, who in 2018 entered a guilty plea in a related federal case, is the key witness against Trump.
Stormy Daniels
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is the adult film star whom Cohen paid in October 2016.
The 2016 agreement in which she agreed to remain quiet was orchestrated by Cohen and Daniels' attorney. Trump used an alias, "David Dennison," and Daniels was called "Peggy Peterson." An accompanying letter identified the pseudonyms' true identities.
Cohen wired the $130,000 to Daniels' lawyer through a shell company called Essential Consultants LLC, which he established just days earlier.
Keith Davidson
Keith Davidson served as Daniels' attorney. In 2016, he made two separate approaches to executives of the National Enquirer regarding clients who alleged having affairs with Trump. Davidson successfully secured payments in exchange for the rights to their stories.
Karen McDougal
Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model, also claimed to have had an affair with Trump. In 2016, the parent company of the National Enquirer paid $150,000 for the rights to her story but chose not to publish it, following a strategy known as "catch and kill."
David Pecker and Dylan Howard
David Pecker, the CEO of the National Enquirer's parent company, and Dylan Howard, the tabloid's editor, actively sought out negative stories about Trump during the 2016 campaign. They acquired the rights to particularly scandalous stories, "catching" them, and then kept them confidential, "killing" the stories. Davidson initially contacted Pecker and Howard before personally negotiating with Cohen to finalize the deal for Daniels' story.
Jeffrey McConney
Jeffrey McConney, the former controller of the Trump Organization, has a history of testifying in Trump-related cases. McConney was responsible for overseeing the recording and processing of payments and other financial matters within the company for many years. Prosecutors allege that he directed a payroll supervisor to log reimbursements to Cohen as monthly payments under a retainer agreement that did not actually exist. McConney is not facing any charges of misconduct.
The Prosecutors
Alvin Bragg
Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney since November 2021, took over the investigation into Trump, which had been ongoing for over two years. His early tenure saw high-profile resignations of prosecutors who worked for his predecessor, Cyrus Vance Jr., and were involved in a financial crimes case.
Upon assuming office, Bragg's team had already charged two Trump Organization companies and their CFO, Allen Weisselberg, with tax fraud felonies. Weisselberg pleaded guilty in August 2022, and the companies were convicted in December of the same year.
In March 2023, a Manhattan grand jury indicted Trump on charges related to alleged falsification of business records in connection with payments to Stormy Daniels.
Susan Hoffinger
Hoffinger, the chief of the investigation division and executive assistant district attorney, led the trial team that secured convictions against two Trump Organization companies in 2022 for 17 felony counts of tax fraud.
Joshua Steinglass
Steinglass, a key member of the team, played a crucial role in questioning witnesses and delivering the closing argument. He is recognized for prosecuting high-profile murder and manslaughter cases.
Christopher Conroy
Conroy, a seasoned prosecutor with extensive experience in white-collar crimes, has led the D.A.'s Major Economic Crimes Bureau for five years.
Matthew Colangelo
Colangelo is a former senior Justice Department official, a fact that Trump has cited in an effort to portray Bragg's investigation as tied to the Biden administration. Colangelo was hired in December 2022, partly because he was involved with the New York attorney general's civil investigation of Trump prior to working for the federal government. That case ended this year when Trump was ordered to pay the state more than $454 million to recoup "ill-gotten gains" from fraud.
Rebecca Mangold
Mangold is a prosecutor in the District Attorney's Office's Major Economic Crimes Bureau. Previously, Mangold represented high-profile clients in complex financial fraud cases as a private attorney.
The defense attorneys
Todd Blanche
Blanche was a partner at an elite New York law firm until the day before Trump's arraignment in 2023, when he resigned his post. He wrote in his resignation letter that working for Trump was "an opportunity I should not pass up." In addition to Trump's New York case, Blanche, a former prosecutor, leads Trump's defense efforts in his Washington, D.C. and Florida federal criminal cases. As a defense attorney, Blanche was no stranger to Trump's circle, having represented Trump lawyer Boris Epshteyn and former campaign manager Paul Manafort, as well as Igor Furman, a former associate of ex-Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
Susan Necheles
Necheles has been a core member of Trump's New York legal team for years. She represented the company during its 2022 trial. She and her law partner, Gedalia Stern, are the only attorneys from that case defending Trump in his upcoming criminal trial. Necheles' previous clients include organized crime figures and leading local Democratic politicians, such as former state Sen. Pedro Espada.
Emil Bove
Emil Bove served as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York for almost ten years, including a role as co-chief of the National Security and International Narcotics Unit. After working as a defense attorney for two years, Bove was hired by Blanche in September. Blanche praised Bove as an "expert in white collar cases" with exceptional trial skills.
The Judge
Juan Merchan
Juan Merchan has been a judge in New York courts since 2006, following over a decade as a litigator for the New York attorney general and as a Manhattan prosecutor.
Merchan has presided over several high-profile cases, including the 2022 criminal trial of the Trump Organization, a 2012 case involving an upscale prostitution ring operator, and a 2011 case of a police officer who lied about illegal searches in court.
Despite facing criticism from Trump on social media, accusing him of bias due to his daughter's work for a Democratic-aligned consulting firm, a state ethics panel in 2023 found no compromise to Merchan's impartiality.
