Trump becomes first ex-president to face criminal charge in US
NEW YORK: Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury following an investigation into hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels, making him the first former president to face criminal charges while running for re-election.
The specific charges are unknown because the indictment is still sealed. According to CNN, Trump faces more than 30 counts of business fraud.
Trump stated that he was “completely innocent” and stated that he would not withdraw from the presidential race in 2024. He accused Bragg, a Democrat, of attempting to harm his re-election chances against Democratic President Joe Biden.
“This is the highest level of political persecution and election interference in history,” he said in a statement.
Shortly after, Trump asked supporters to contribute to his legal defence fund. According to his campaign, he has raised more than $2 million since predicting incorrectly on March 18 that he would be arrested four days later.
According to polls, Trump is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination in 2024, and he received support on Thursday from a number of potential challengers, including Florida Governor Ron Desantis and former Vice President Mike Pence.
“This will only serve to further divide our country,” Pence said.
While the White House did not respond, Democrats said Trump was not above the law.
“I encourage both Mr. Trump’s critics and supporters to let the process proceed peacefully and according to the law,” said the top Democrat in the Senate, Chuck Schumer.
The charges will likely be unsealed by a judge in the coming days. Trump will have to travel to Manhattan for fingerprinting and other processing at that point.
Bragg’s office said it had contacted Trump’s attorney to coordinate a surrender, which a court official said would likely occur next Tuesday.
Trump’s lawyers Susan Necheles and Joseph Tacopina said they will “vigorously fight” the charges.
Trump is facing a number of legal challenges, including the Manhattan investigation.
Last year, Bragg successfully prosecuted Trump’s company on tax-fraud charges, resulting in a $1.61 million criminal penalty.
According to a person familiar with the matter, the presiding judge in that case, New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, is expected to oversee this case as well.
Trump may use the case to incite rage among his core supporters, but other Republican voters may grow tired of the drama. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released last week, 44% of Republicans believe he should drop out of the race if he is indicted.
Several protesters held signs criticising Trump outside the courthouse. Authorities increased security around the courthouse after Trump called for nationwide protests on March 18, echoing his charged rhetoric ahead of his supporters’ Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has stated that she was paid to remain silent about a sexual encounter she had with Trump in 2006.
Michael Cohen, the former president’s personal lawyer, has stated that he worked with Trump to coordinate payments to Daniels and a second woman, former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who also claimed to have had a sexual relationship with him. Trump has denied having an affair with either of the women.
Trump initially denied knowing anything about the payment to Daniels in 2018. He later admitted to repaying Cohen for the payment, which he described as a “simple private transaction.”
“No one is above the law,” Daniels’ lawyer Clark Brewster said on Twitter.
Cohen pleaded guilty to a campaign-finance violation in 2018 and served more than a year in prison. Federal prosecutors said he acted at Trump’s direction.
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Cohen said he stood by his testimony and the evidence he provided to prosecutors. “Accountability matters,” he said in a statement.
No former or sitting U.S. president has ever faced criminal charges.
Aside from this case, Trump faces two criminal investigations by a special counsel appointed by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and another criminal probe by a local prosecutor in Georgia.
Trump has escaped legal peril numerous times. In the White House, he weathered two attempts by Congress to remove him from office, including for the Jan. 6, assault on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters, as well as a years-long probe into his campaign’s contacts with Russia in 2016.
In last year’s tax-fraud trial, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office targeted Trump’s business but declined to charge Trump himself with financial crimes.
In the hush-money case, legal experts say Bragg is expected to argue Trump falsified business records to cover up another crime, such as violating federal campaign-finance law, which makes it a felony.
