Honestly, the phrase "34 felony counts" sounds like a massive, complicated web of different crimes. It conjures up images of dozens of different heists or a long string of various illegal acts. But when you actually peel back the hood of the Manhattan trial that wrapped up in 2024, the reality is a lot more repetitive.
Basically, Donald Trump was convicted of 34 counts of the exact same thing: Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree.
It wasn't 34 different types of crimes. It was 34 specific documents—checks, invoices, and ledger entries—that a jury decided were lies meant to cover up something else. This wasn't just about a "hush money" payment to Stormy Daniels, though that's what everyone calls it. Legally, the case was about how that money was recorded in the books of the Trump Organization.
What 34 Felonies Was Trump Convicted Of: The Specific List
To understand the conviction, you've got to look at the paper trail. Prosecutors didn't just throw a random number at the wall. They mapped out every single time a piece of paper was "falsified" to reimburse Michael Cohen for the $130,000 he paid to Stormy Daniels.
Think of it like a monthly subscription to a lie.
Every month in 2017, Michael Cohen would send an invoice. The Trump Organization would then create a "voucher" for that invoice. Then, a check would be cut and signed. Because this happened nearly every month, the counts stacked up fast.
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The Breakdown of the 34 Counts
If you look at the actual verdict sheet from Judge Juan Merchan’s courtroom, the counts are broken down by the type of document:
- 11 Invoices: These were the bills Michael Cohen sent to the Trump Organization, claiming he was being paid for "legal services" under a retainer agreement that prosecutors argued didn't actually exist.
- 11 Vouchers: These were the internal documents created by the Trump Organization's accounting department (think folks like Allen Weisselberg and Jeffrey McConney) to authorize the payments.
- 12 Check Entries: This includes the actual checks signed to pay Cohen and the corresponding entries in the General Ledger. Some checks were signed from Trump's personal account while he was sitting in the Oval Office, while others came from his revocable trust.
It’s almost mechanical. Count 1 was an invoice in February. Count 2 was a voucher. Count 3 was a check. Then the cycle repeated in March, April, and so on, all the way through December. By the time they reached the end of the year, they had 34 separate instances of what the jury deemed criminal record-keeping.
Why These Were Felonies and Not Just Misdemeanors
In New York, lying on a business record is usually a misdemeanor. It’s a "whoops, I messed up the books" kind of charge. To bump it up to a Class E felony—the lowest tier of felony in the state—prosecutors had to prove something extra.
They had to show that Trump didn't just fix the books for fun, but that he did it to commit or conceal another crime.
This is where things got "kinda" legally nerdy. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg argued that the "other crime" was a violation of New York Election Law Section 17-152. That law basically says it’s illegal to conspire to promote an election by "unlawful means."
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The jury didn't actually have to agree on what those "unlawful means" were. They just had to agree that some other crime was being covered up. Prosecutors suggested three possibilities:
- Violating federal campaign finance limits (since the $130,000 was effectively an illegal contribution to his own campaign).
- Tax fraud (because the reimbursements to Cohen were "grossed up" to look like income so he could pay taxes on them, which the state called a tax dodge).
- Falsifying other business records.
When the foreperson stood up and said "Guilty" 34 times, they were saying they believed Trump intended to subvert the 2016 election by hiding the Stormy Daniels story and then burying the evidence in his company's ledgers.
The "Hush Money" Misconception
You've probably heard this called the "Hush Money Trial" a thousand times. But here is the thing: Paying hush money isn't illegal. You can pay someone to be quiet about an affair all day long in the United States. It's called a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). People do it all the time. The felony conviction happened because of the reimbursement and the labeling.
If Trump had written a check to Stormy Daniels directly and labeled it "Payment to keep someone quiet," he probably wouldn't have been in that courtroom. Instead, the money went through Michael Cohen, and the reimbursement was labeled "Legal Expenses."
The jury saw handwritten notes from Allen Weisselberg, the former CFO of the Trump Organization, which basically did the math on how to pay Cohen back without making it look like a reimbursement. They even added extra money to cover Cohen's taxes—a "gross up"—which was a smoking gun for the prosecution.
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What Happened After the Conviction?
The legal world shifted on May 30, 2024. Trump became the first former U.S. president to be a convicted felon.
But as we moved into 2025 and 2026, the "so what" of the case changed. After Trump won the 2024 election, the legal landscape hit a wall. On January 10, 2025, just days before his second inauguration, Judge Merchan sentenced him to an unconditional discharge.
Basically, the judge acknowledged the 34 felonies but decided that, given his status as President-elect, prison or probation wasn't feasible or appropriate at that time. It was a "conviction without a sentence," which left both his critics and supporters reeling.
Can a Felon Be President?
Clearly, yes. The U.S. Constitution has a very short list of requirements for the presidency: you have to be at least 35, a natural-born citizen, and a resident for 14 years. It says nothing about a criminal record.
Can He Still Vote?
This was a big debate. Since the conviction was in New York, and Trump is a resident of Florida, Florida law applies. Florida generally follows the rules of the state where the conviction happened. In New York, felons can vote as long as they aren't currently incarcerated. Since Trump never went to a jail cell for these 34 counts, his right to vote stayed intact.
Actionable Takeaways: How to Navigate the Facts
If you're trying to keep the facts straight in a sea of political noise, keep these points in your back pocket:
- Look for the "Primary" Charge: Whenever you see a "what 34 felonies was trump convicted of" headline, remember it’s always Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree.
- The Paper Trail is the Key: The 34 counts aren't 34 stories; they are 11 invoices, 11 vouchers, and 12 ledger entries/checks.
- Check the Timeline: These records were all created in 2017, but they were meant to hide a payment made in 2016.
- Understand the "Why": The jump from misdemeanor to felony happened because the jury believed the records were faked to hide an election-related conspiracy.
The case is currently in the appeals process. Trump’s legal team is arguing that the trial was tainted by "immune" evidence—things he said or did while he was actually President—following a Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity. Whether these 34 felonies stay on his record or get tossed out by an appeals court is the next big chapter in this saga.