Everything To Know About Trump's 'Hush Money' Case Before Next Month's Trial

Donald Trump is seeking to add "president" to his title once more in 2024. In the meantime, there's another word associated with him that he'd rather not hear: "defendant." The former POTUS is no stranger to courtrooms and lawyers; per USA Today, Trump has been involved in nearly 4,100 lawsuits over the past three decades. But copyright skirmishes, pay disputes, and personal injury cases seem like peanuts compared to the legal nightmares he faces today. Just for starters, on February 16, a judge handed down a verdict in a civil fraud trial against Trump, issuing a massive $355 million fine and a ban on doing business in New York for three years. This comes just a few weeks after he was ordered to pay writer E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million for defamation of character. 

But wait, there's more: Trump is the first U.S. president ever to be indicted, and in keeping with his tradition of doing things in a big way, he is involved in not one, but four criminal cases. The first trial scheduled is also the juiciest: Trump will appear once again in a Manhattan court on March 25 to defend the charges related to two alleged affairs. Trump is accused of paying Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal to keep them quiet amid his first presidential campaign, then altering his financial records to make it appear as though the money had been used for other purposes. This, prosecutors will argue, constitutes a violation of election law in New York State. 

Adult film star Stormy Daniels (seen here) claimed she and Donald Trump had one sexual encounter in July 2006, just months after his new wife Melania had given birth to their son, Barron. Playboy model Karen McDougal alleges she also had a longer-term affair with Trump around the same time. The flings were forgotten for years until Trump entered the presidential race in 2016. Needing to keep a clean rep as a future commander-in-chief, Trump is said to have made both women sign nondisclosure agreements in exchange for six-figure "hush money" payments. Reportedly, a Trump Tower doorman was also paid off to keep quiet about a child Trump allegedly had with another woman.

Bribing someone not to talk to the press about a presidential candidate isn't illegal; however, claiming the money was for legal expenses is considered "withholding truthful information from voters," per Newsweek. Trump's lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid the women and doorman out of his own pocket, and the Trump Organization reimbursed him in a series of separate payments. 

Though Trump has denied any involvement with either Daniels or McDougal, legal experts predict he'll tell a different story in the courtroom. He may fess up to his romantic misdeeds, but explain he lied about the hush money to keep Melania from knowing he had cheated on her. Whatever the outcome of the case, it's sure to make headlines. More significantly, it could affect not only Trump's 2024 campaign but his marriage as well.