A Manhattan grand jury voted Thursday to indict Donald Trump. A first: no former U.S. president has ever faced criminal charges.
The case turns on $130,000 paid to Stormy Daniels, an adult film actress, in the final stretch of the 2016 campaign to keep quiet about an alleged affair. Trump, who has denied the affair, reimbursed the payout through his company and logged it as a legal expense.
The exact charges stayed under wraps because New York indictments are filed under seal. But Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg had been focused on one felony count of falsifying business records, which carries a maximum of four years.
Trump was expected to surrender for arraignment the following Tuesday. His lawyers rejected the charges as a political prosecution. In a statement, attorneys Susan Necheles and Joe Tacopina insisted Trump had committed no crime and promised to fight the case in court.
Trump has said he intends to stay in the 2024 race. The historic indictment followed a long-running probe by the district attorney’s office, which had already won convictions against two Trump Organization companies in a tax fraud case.
Sources
- Manhattan grand jury votes to indict Donald Trump, showing he, like all other presidents, is not an imperial king
- Former President Donald Trump indicted by Manhattan grand jury
Sources
- Read the full Trump indictment charging him with 34 felony counts
- READ THE INDICTMENT: Trump charged with 34 felony counts of…
