Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against former President Donald Trump centers around payments made in 2016 ahead of the presidential election.
Most of the key figures have been involved in grand jury testimony, including attorney Robert Costello, former Playboy playmate Karen McDougal, adult film star Stormy Daniels and former Trump lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen.
Here are the key people to know:
Donald Trump
The former president was a candidate when he allegedly signed off on a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels that was falsely labeled on the books of the Trump Organization as legal expenses.
Michael Cohen
The former Trump lawyer turned key prosecution witness who says Trump directed him to pay $130,000 in hush money to Daniels in the final days of the 2016 presidential campaign.
Stormy Daniels
The adult film star was paid $130,000 during the final days of the 2016 presidential campaign to stop her from going public about her claim she’d had an affair with the married Trump in 2006.
Robert Costello
A criminal lawyer who testified before the Manhattan grand jury and says that Cohen should not be trusted and that Cohen told him that Trump was not involved in the hush money payment.
Alvin Bragg
The Manhattan district attorney who took office last year and decided to push ahead with the grand jury looking into the years-old hush money probe started by his predecessor.
Karen McDougal
A former Playboy model who said that she had a monthslong affair with Trump in 2006 and that she was paid $150,000 to keep quiet about the alleged relationship by the publisher of the tabloid National Enquirer, which said that it did so “in concert” with Trump’s campaign.
David Pecker
The former CEO of American Media and publisher of National Enquirer testified before the grand jury. Pecker had previously admitted to federal officials that National Enquirer paid Karen McDougal $150,000 for the rights to her story in which she alleged she had an affair with Trump but never intended to publish it.
Source – NBC News
Share your thoughts