(The Center Square) – The state court system plans to publish daily transcripts from former President Donald Trump’s ongoing hush money trial.
The New York State Unified Court System will publish a certified transcript of each day’s trial proceeding online before the end of the next business day.
Trump, 77, is the first former U.S. president to be indicted and brought to trial.
The court system is taking the novel step of posting the daily transcripts “to ensure broad and continuous public access to this extraordinarily high-profile case,” according to a statement from the Chief Administrative Judge Joseph Zayas and First Deputy Chief Administrative Judge Norman St. George.
“With current law restricting the broadcasting of trial proceedings and courtroom space for public spectators very limited, the release of the daily transcripts on the court system’s website is the best way to provide the public a direct view of the proceedings in this historic trial,” Zayas said in a statement. “This measure is in the interest of the public good and aligns with the court system’s commitment to judicial transparency and its ongoing efforts to enhance public access to, and understanding of, the courts and justice system.”
The transcripts will be published to the court’s press page: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/press/index.shtml
Trump pleaded not guilty in April 2023 to 34 felony counts related to charges he paid off Stormy Daniels through a lawyer before the 2016 presidential election and covered it up as a legal expense before being elected president.
In the New York case, prosecutors said Trump’s $130,000 payment to Daniels was covered up as a business expense and that the money was to help keep her quiet. Prosecutors say they had a sexual encounter in 2006, which Trump has denied. Prosecutors also said Trump paid Karen McDougal, a Playboy Playmate, and reimbursed then-attorney and fixer Michael Cohen to cover it up.
Prosecutors say Trump falsified internal records kept by his company, hiding the true nature of payments that involve Daniels ($130,000), McDougal ($150,000), and Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen ($420,000). Prosecutors say the money was logged as legal expenses, not reimbursements. In a reversal of past close relationships now pivotal to the prosecution against him, both Cohen and Daniels are expected to testify.
Under New York state law, falsifying business records in the first degree is a Class E felony that carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison.