The Defendant Falsified Business Records in the Trump Organization

After the election defendant reimbursed the lawyer through a series of disguised monthly payments that had the true nature of the payoff. Defendant falsified these New York business records with the intent to defraud including the intent to commit another crime and to aid and conceal the commission of another crime. This office has long prioritized protecting the integrity of business records maintained here in New York. When those records are falsified in service of another crime it's a felony. That's what this defendant did when he falsified business records in order to conceal unlawful efforts to promote his candidacy and that's why we are here. And that's from the transcript of the arraignment today.