Tobias Sylvester
Donald Trump has been indicted by a New York grand jury on more than 30 counts, marking the first former United States president to face criminal charges.
The New York grand jury indicted Donald Trump on Thursday over “hush money” payments made to a porn star, Stormy Daniels, during his 2016 campaign.
KanyiDaily recalls that Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, said she was paid $130,000 in exchange for keeping silent about a sexual encounter she had with Trump in 2006.
The 76-year-old ex-president had denied all wrongdoing in connection with the payment made to the porn star ahead of the election that sent him to the White House.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office confirmed the indictment in a statement on Thursday and said it had reached out to Trump’s attorney to arrange his surrender.
The specific charge or charges have not yet been made public and the indictment remains under seal. Bragg’s office said more guidance would be provided “when the arraignment date is selected.”
One of Trump’s attorneys, Joseph Tacopina, told CBS News via text that Trump’s legal team expects him to surrender to authorities “likely Tuesday,” following discussions with the Manhattan DA’s office until late Thursday night.
Two sources familiar with the matter told CBS News the plan is for the former president to fly to New York Monday and be arraigned before Judge Juan Merchan the next day.
The proceeding is expected to be brief. The charge or charges in the indictment would be read to him at that time. The sources noted that the planning is fluid and the date could change.
In a statement responding to news of his indictment, Trump called it “Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history,” and accused Democrats of “weaponizing our justice system to punish a political opponent, who just so happens to be a President of the United States.”
“The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to ‘Get Trump,’ but now they’ve done the unthinkable — indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference,” Trump said.
Two Trump attorneys, Tacopina and Susan Necheles, issued a statement saying that the former president “did not commit any crime” and vowed to “vigorously fight this political prosecution in Court.”
Trump, who is expected to appear in court to face the charges and enter a plea in New York next Tuesday, April 4, 2023, faces more than 30 counts of charges linked to business fraud – although that is not officially confirmed.
KanyiDaily recalls that Stormy Daniels said she feels sorry for Donald Trump after months of angry back-and-forth between her and the former US president.
