Key players to know about Trump's 'hush money' trial set to begin on Monday

When former president Donald Trump's criminal trial The investigation, which begins Monday in New York, is the culmination of a year-long investigation and opens a new chapter in a saga that stretches back to an alleged affair in 2006.

This is a story that weaves together presidential politics, tabloid headlines, and the mundane intricacies of corporate bookkeeping. The trial features a unique cast of characters, some already well-known and others in the spotlight for the first time.

These are some of the important numbers to know. first ever criminal trial The story of the former president begins.

Defendant and key witness

donald trump

playing cards, The Republican Party's presidential nomination was once again blocked by is the defendant in the case, charged with 34 felonies Regarding falsification of business records. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment on April 4, 2023. Since then, he has been furious with prosecutors and judges for conspiring to gain political advantage.

Prosecutors allege he participated in a scheme to conceal reimbursements to his then-attorney. Paid $130,000 in “hush money” to adult film star Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 presidential election. Daniels claimed in 2006 that she had an affair with President Trump, which she denies. She signed a strict non-disclosure agreement in exchange for money.

President Trump has said he is willing to testify, but it is unclear whether his lawyers will call him to the stand.

michael coen

Mr. Cohen is a former lawyer whose payments are at the center of the case.

The 34 charges against Mr. Trump include 11 invoices, 11 checks, and 12 Trump Organization ledger entries, all of which involved reimbursement from Mr. Trump to Mr. Cohen in 2017 and 2018. allegedly characterized it as a monthly payment for ongoing legal services.

Prosecutors claim these were actually reimbursements for $130,000 that Mr. Cohen paid to an adult film star in 2016. Prosecutors say the restitution totaled $420,000, allowing Mr. Cohen to recoup his tax losses and walk away with a bonus. Mr. Cohen pleaded guilty in a related federal case in 2018 and is a key witness against Mr. Trump.

stormy daniels

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is an adult film star who was paid by Cohen in October 2016.

The 2016 agreement in which she agreed to remain silent was arranged by attorneys for Cohen and Daniels. Trump used the pseudonym “David Dennison,” and Daniels was known as “Peggy Peterson.” The attached letter revealed their true identity under false names.

Cohen wired $130,000 to Daniels' attorney through a shell company called Essential Consultants LLC, which he had formed a few days earlier.

keith davidson

Davidson was Daniels' attorney. In 2016, he twice approached National Enquirer executives about clients he claimed had had affairs with President Trump and secured payments in exchange for rights to the story.

Karen McDougall

McDougall is a former Playboy model. Alleged affair with Trump. In 2016, the National Enquirer's parent company paid $150,000 for the rights to her article but never published her account in a tactic known as “catch and kill.”

David Pecker and Dylan Howard

Mr. Pecker was CEO of the National Enquirer's parent company, and Mr. Howard was an editor at the tabloid. During the 2016 election campaign, the pair kept an eye on negative articles about Trump, buying the rights to particularly salacious articles, “capturing” them, keeping them secret and “killing them.” Davidson contacted the two before ultimately negotiating privately with Cohen to finalize a deal for Daniels' story.

Jeffrey McConney

McConney is used to being on the witness stand in Trump-related cases. McConney, a former Trump Organization administrator, oversaw the recording and processing of payments and other corporate finances for decades. Prosecutors say the suspect instructed a payroll supervisor to record Cohen's reimbursement as a monthly payment under an ongoing maintenance agreement. Prosecutors argue that no such agreement existed. He has not been accused of wrongdoing.

prosecutor

Alvin Bragg

Bragg was elected Manhattan district attorney in November 2021 and immediately took over the investigation into Trump, which had already been in effect for more than two years. Mr. Bragg's early tenure was highlighted by the resignation of a prosecutor who worked under his predecessor, Cyrus Vance Jr., and was responsible for major financial crimes cases.

By the time Mr. Bragg took office, two Trump Organization companies and the company's longtime chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, had already been indicted on felony charges related to tax evasion. His team secured a guilty plea from Weisselberg in August 2022, and both companies were found guilty at trial in December of the same year.

On March 31, 2023, a Manhattan grand jury indicted Mr. Trump in a case focused on allegations of falsifying business records related to reimbursement of payments to Mr. Daniels.

susan hoffinger

Mr. Hoffinger was hired as director of investigations and assistant district attorney in Mr. Bragg's office. She led the trial team that secured the convictions of two Trump Organization companies in 2022 on 17 felonies related to tax evasion.

Joshua Steinglass

Mr. Steinglass was also a key member of that team, cross-examining key witnesses and delivering closing arguments. Mr. Steinglass is known for prosecuting high-profile murder and manslaughter cases.

christopher conroy

Conroy is a veteran prosecutor who investigated major white-collar crimes and led the DA's Major Economic Crimes Bureau for five years.

Matthew Colangelo

Mr. Colangelo is a former senior Justice Department official, a fact that Mr. Trump cited to portray Mr. Bragg's investigation as linked to the Biden administration. Colangelo was hired in December 2022, having worked on the New York State Attorney General's civil investigation into Trump before working for the federal government. The case concluded earlier this year when Trump was ordered to pay more than $454 million to the state to recover “ill-gotten gains” from the fraud.

rebecca mangold

Mr. Mangold is a prosecutor in the District Attorney's Serious Economic Crimes Bureau. Mr. Mangold previously served as a private attorney representing high-profile clients in complex financial fraud cases.

the lawyers

Todd Blanche

blanche He was a partner at an elite New York law firm until the day before Trump's arraignment in 2023, when Trump resigned from the position. In his resignation letter, he wrote that working for Trump was “an opportunity not to be missed.” In addition to Mr. Trump's New York case, Mr. Branch, a former prosecutor, is leading Mr. Trump's defense in federal criminal cases in Washington, D.C., and Florida. As a defense attorney, Blanche has represented Trump's lawyer Boris Epshteyn, former campaign manager Paul Manafort, and Igor Fuhrman, a former colleague of former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani. The surroundings were familiar.

Susan Necheres

Mr. Necheres has long been a key member of Mr. Trump's New York legal team. She represented the company in the 2022 trial. She and her law partner, Gedaliah Stern, are the only lawyers in the case who will represent Trump in his upcoming criminal trial. Mr. Necheres' past clients include organized crime figures and prominent local Democratic politicians, including former state Sen. Pedro Espada.

Emile Bovet

Mr. Bove served as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York for nearly a decade, including as co-director of the National Security Agency and the Office of International Narcotics Countermeasures. Beauvais worked as a defense attorney for two years before Blanche hired him in September. At the time, Blanche described Bove as an “expert in white-collar cases” and said “his trial skills are among the best in the business.”

judge

Juan Marchan

Marchan has been a New York court judge since 2006. Prior to that, he spent more than a decade as a litigator for the New York State Attorney General and a Manhattan prosecutor.

As a legal scholar, his high-profile cases include the 2022 criminal trial of the Trump Organization, a 2012 case against a high-level prostitution ring operator, and a 2011 case in which he lied in court about an illegal investigation he conducted. This includes cases involving police officers.

Marchand has been the focus of a long series of vitriolic attacks on social media by President Trump, accusing the judge of bias, citing Marchand's daughter working for a Democratic-leaning consulting firm. . In 2023, the state Ethics Commission concluded that her work did not compromise Marchan's impartiality.

graham cates

Graham Cates is an investigative reporter covering criminal justice, privacy issues and information security for CBS News Digital. To contact Graham, KatesG@cbsnews.com or grahamkates@protonmail.com

Summarize this content to 100 words When former president Donald Trump's criminal trial The investigation, which begins Monday in New York, is the culmination of a year-long investigation and opens a new chapter in a saga that stretches back to an alleged affair in 2006. This is a story that weaves together presidential politics, tabloid headlines, and the mundane intricacies of corporate bookkeeping. The trial features a unique cast of characters, some already well-known and others in the spotlight for the first time. These are some of the important numbers to know. first ever criminal trial The story of the former president begins.

Defendant and key witness donald trump

Former President Donald Trump speaks to the media in the hallway outside the Manhattan Criminal Courtroom on March 25, 2024 in New York.

Brendan McDiarmid/Reuters/Bloomberg via Getty Images

playing cards, The Republican Party's presidential nomination was once again blocked by is the defendant in the case, charged with 34 felonies Regarding falsification of business records. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment on April 4, 2023. Since then, he has been furious with prosecutors and judges for conspiring to gain political advantage. Prosecutors allege he participated in a scheme to conceal reimbursements to his then-attorney. Paid $130,000 in “hush money” to adult film star Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 presidential election. Daniels claimed in 2006 that she had an affair with President Trump, which she denies. She signed a strict non-disclosure agreement in exchange for money.

President Trump has said he is willing to testify, but it is unclear whether his lawyers will call him to the stand. michael coen

Michael Cohen walks through the lobby of Trump Tower on January 12, 2017 in New York.

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Mr. Cohen is a former lawyer whose payments are at the center of the case. The 34 charges against Mr. Trump include 11 invoices, 11 checks, and 12 Trump Organization ledger entries, all of which involved reimbursement from Mr. Trump to Mr. Cohen in 2017 and 2018. allegedly characterized it as a monthly payment for ongoing legal services. Prosecutors claim these were actually reimbursements for $130,000 that Mr. Cohen paid to an adult film star in 2016. Prosecutors say the restitution totaled $420,000, allowing Mr. Cohen to recoup his tax losses and walk away with a bonus. Mr. Cohen pleaded guilty in a related federal case in 2018 and is a key witness against Mr. Trump.

stormy daniels

On April 16, 2018, Stormy Daniels appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is an adult film star who was paid by Cohen in October 2016. The 2016 agreement in which she agreed to remain silent was arranged by attorneys for Cohen and Daniels. Trump used the pseudonym “David Dennison,” and Daniels was known as “Peggy Peterson.” The attached letter revealed their true identity under false names. Cohen wired $130,000 to Daniels' attorney through a shell company called Essential Consultants LLC, which he had formed a few days earlier. keith davidson Davidson was Daniels' attorney. In 2016, he twice approached National Enquirer executives about clients he claimed had had affairs with President Trump and secured payments in exchange for rights to the story. Karen McDougall McDougall is a former Playboy model. Alleged affair with Trump. In 2016, the National Enquirer's parent company paid $150,000 for the rights to her article but never published her account in a tactic known as “catch and kill.” David Pecker and Dylan Howard

David Pecker, then chairman and CEO of American Media, is pictured in a 2014 file photo.

Marion Curtis/Associated Press

Mr. Pecker was CEO of the National Enquirer's parent company, and Mr. Howard was an editor at the tabloid. During the 2016 election campaign, the pair kept an eye on negative articles about Trump, buying the rights to particularly salacious articles, “capturing” them, keeping them secret and “killing them.” Davidson contacted the two before ultimately negotiating privately with Cohen to finalize a deal for Daniels' story. Jeffrey McConney

Trump Organization administrator Jeffrey McConney will retire from the New York State Supreme Court on Friday, October 6, 2023.

Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images

McConney is used to being on the witness stand in Trump-related cases. McConney, a former Trump Organization administrator, oversaw the recording and processing of payments and other corporate finances for decades. Prosecutors say the suspect instructed a payroll supervisor to record Cohen's reimbursement as a monthly payment under an ongoing maintenance agreement. Prosecutors argue that no such agreement existed. He has not been accused of wrongdoing.

prosecutor

Prosecutors Joshua Steinglass and Susan Hoffinger listen to brief comments from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in New York City on December 6, 2022.

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Alvin BraggBragg was elected Manhattan district attorney in November 2021 and immediately took over the investigation into Trump, which had already been in effect for more than two years. Mr. Bragg's early tenure was highlighted by the resignation of a prosecutor who worked under his predecessor, Cyrus Vance Jr., and was responsible for major financial crimes cases. By the time Mr. Bragg took office, two Trump Organization companies and the company's longtime chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, had already been indicted on felony charges related to tax evasion. His team secured a guilty plea from Weisselberg in August 2022, and both companies were found guilty at trial in December of the same year. On March 31, 2023, a Manhattan grand jury indicted Mr. Trump in a case focused on allegations of falsifying business records related to reimbursement of payments to Mr. Daniels. susan hoffingerMr. Hoffinger was hired as director of investigations and assistant district attorney in Mr. Bragg's office. She led the trial team that secured the convictions of two Trump Organization companies in 2022 on 17 felonies related to tax evasion. Joshua SteinglassMr. Steinglass was also a key member of that team, cross-examining key witnesses and delivering closing arguments. Mr. Steinglass is known for prosecuting high-profile murder and manslaughter cases. christopher conroy Conroy is a veteran prosecutor who investigated major white-collar crimes and led the DA's Major Economic Crimes Bureau for five years. Matthew Colangelo Mr. Colangelo is a former senior Justice Department official, a fact that Mr. Trump cited to portray Mr. Bragg's investigation as linked to the Biden administration. Colangelo was hired in December 2022, having worked on the New York State Attorney General's civil investigation into Trump before working for the federal government. The case concluded earlier this year when Trump was ordered to pay more than $454 million to the state to recover “ill-gotten gains” from the fraud.

rebecca mangold Mr. Mangold is a prosecutor in the District Attorney's Serious Economic Crimes Bureau. Mr. Mangold previously served as a private attorney representing high-profile clients in complex financial fraud cases. the lawyersTodd Blanche

Tod Blanche arrives at Trump Tower in New York on February 15, 2024.

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images/Getty Images

blanche He was a partner at an elite New York law firm until the day before Trump's arraignment in 2023, when Trump resigned from the position. In his resignation letter, he wrote that working for Trump was “an opportunity not to be missed.” In addition to Mr. Trump's New York case, Mr. Branch, a former prosecutor, is leading Mr. Trump's defense in federal criminal cases in Washington, D.C., and Florida. As a defense attorney, Blanche has represented Trump's lawyer Boris Epshteyn, former campaign manager Paul Manafort, and Igor Fuhrman, a former colleague of former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani. The surroundings were familiar. Susan Necheres

Susan Necheres arrives at Manhattan Criminal Court on Monday, March 25, 2024 in New York.

Curtis Means/Daily Mail/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Mr. Necheres has long been a key member of Mr. Trump's New York legal team. She represented the company in the 2022 trial. She and her law partner, Gedaliah Stern, are the only lawyers in the case who will represent Trump in his upcoming criminal trial. Mr. Necheres' past clients include organized crime figures and prominent local Democratic politicians, including former state Sen. Pedro Espada. Emile Bovet Mr. Bove served as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York for nearly a decade, including as co-director of the National Security Agency and the Office of International Narcotics Countermeasures. Beauvais worked as a defense attorney for two years before Blanche hired him in September. At the time, Blanche described Bove as an “expert in white-collar cases” and said “his trial skills are among the best in the business.” judge Juan Marchan

Judge Juan Machan poses in his New York courtroom on March 14, 2024.

Seth Wenig/AP

Marchan has been a New York court judge since 2006. Prior to that, he spent more than a decade as a litigator for the New York State Attorney General and a Manhattan prosecutor. As a legal scholar, his high-profile cases include the 2022 criminal trial of the Trump Organization, a 2012 case against a high-level prostitution ring operator, and a 2011 case in which he lied in court about an illegal investigation he conducted. This includes cases involving police officers. Marchand has been the focus of a long series of vitriolic attacks on social media by President Trump, accusing the judge of bias, citing Marchand's daughter working for a Democratic-leaning consulting firm. . In 2023, the state Ethics Commission concluded that her work did not compromise Marchan's impartiality.

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graham cates

Graham Cates is an investigative reporter covering criminal justice, privacy issues and information security for CBS News Digital. To contact Graham, KatesG@cbsnews.com or grahamkates@protonmail.com

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-trial-hush-money-case-new-york-key-players/ Key players to know about Trump's 'hush money' trial set to begin on Monday