The former president of the United States, Donald Trump, has been charged in New York City in connection with a $130,000 payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels by his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, in the final days of the 2016 presidential campaign. The money was allegedly given to Daniels to stop her from publicly disclosing that she had an affair with Trump.
It is the first time in history that a former U.S. president has been charged with a crime thanks to the historic indictment, which was announced on Thursday by numerous media agencies. It comes as Trump is being investigated separately and currently for his suspected role in the influence of his followers in the 2020 election as well as the attack on the United States on January 6, 2021. Capitol, as well as how he handled sensitive information after leaving government.
Trump has officially announced his candidacy for president in 2024, and his Republican friends have attempted to disparage Manhattan Dist's work. Atty. Over the past year, Alvin Bragg revived the investigation, which was started in 2018 but was repeatedly put on the back burner. The former president has characterized Alvin Bragg as politically motivated, with the former president calling on his supporters in a social media post on Saturday to protest and "take our nation back."
Trump, who turned down a request to appear before the grand jury, has denied having an affair with Daniels and claimed that she sought money because of his precarious position as a contender for president. Cohen testified before the grand jury earlier this month after entering a guilty plea to a number of counts in 2018, including federal campaign finance violations regarding the payment of hush money. Federal prosecutors came to the conclusion that the payment, which was made soon after Trump came under fire, was an unlawful contribution to his campaign.
On his Truth Social platform, Trump urged followers to demonstrate repeatedly and warned that if he is found guilty of a felony, it "may be disastrous for our Country" and cause "possible death & destruction."
Although advising people not to demonstrate, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) tasked pertinent congressional committees with investigating "whether federal dollars are being utilized to subvert our democracy by intervening in elections with politically motivated charges."
In a joint letter, the Republican chairs of the House Judiciary, House Administration, and Oversight and Accountability committees asked on Monday that Bragg testify before Congress regarding his probe, which they referred to as "an unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority."
Another unprecedented request from lawmakers in a criminal investigation was for Bragg to provide over the evidence from his investigation. Joe Tacopina, a lawyer for Trump, requested the New York City Department of Investigation, the city's inspector general, to look into what he called the "weaponization" of the district attorney's office before the indictment was made public.
Although it is unclear how big the protests Trump and his allies encouraged will be, law enforcement agencies in New York, Florida, and Washington, D.C., have prepared for them. On Monday, the New York Police Department built steel barricades outside the Manhattan criminal court and installed bike rack fencing surrounding the Capitol.
Trump is the subject of three further judicial inquiries. County of Fulton Dist. Atty. In the weeks following the 2020 election, Fani Willis in Atlanta is considering possible indictments related to Trump's attempts to tamper with the Georgia election results. A section of the long-awaited Georgia special grand jury report was made public in February, but the suggested charges and targets are still unknown.
Jack Smith, a special counsel who was selected by the U.S. Atty. Gen. Merrick Garland is in charge of two investigations: one looking into whether Trump purposefully kept sensitive information after leaving office and disregarded a subpoena to do so, and the other looking into what he did to stay in power after losing the election.
In both investigations, grand juries have met and are currently interviewing witnesses. It will probably be months before the results of the special counsel's investigations lead to potential indictments.
It is the first time in history that a former U.S. president has been charged with a crime thanks to the historic indictment, which was announced on Thursday by numerous media agencies. It comes as Trump is being investigated separately and currently for his suspected role in the influence of his followers in the 2020 election as well as the attack on the United States on January 6, 2021. Capitol, as well as how he handled sensitive information after leaving government.
Trump has officially announced his candidacy for president in 2024, and his Republican friends have attempted to disparage Manhattan Dist's work. Atty. Over the past year, Alvin Bragg revived the investigation, which was started in 2018 but was repeatedly put on the back burner. The former president has characterized Alvin Bragg as politically motivated, with the former president calling on his supporters in a social media post on Saturday to protest and "take our nation back."
Trump, who turned down a request to appear before the grand jury, has denied having an affair with Daniels and claimed that she sought money because of his precarious position as a contender for president. Cohen testified before the grand jury earlier this month after entering a guilty plea to a number of counts in 2018, including federal campaign finance violations regarding the payment of hush money. Federal prosecutors came to the conclusion that the payment, which was made soon after Trump came under fire, was an unlawful contribution to his campaign.
On his Truth Social platform, Trump urged followers to demonstrate repeatedly and warned that if he is found guilty of a felony, it "may be disastrous for our Country" and cause "possible death & destruction."
Although advising people not to demonstrate, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) tasked pertinent congressional committees with investigating "whether federal dollars are being utilized to subvert our democracy by intervening in elections with politically motivated charges."
In a joint letter, the Republican chairs of the House Judiciary, House Administration, and Oversight and Accountability committees asked on Monday that Bragg testify before Congress regarding his probe, which they referred to as "an unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority."
Another unprecedented request from lawmakers in a criminal investigation was for Bragg to provide over the evidence from his investigation. Joe Tacopina, a lawyer for Trump, requested the New York City Department of Investigation, the city's inspector general, to look into what he called the "weaponization" of the district attorney's office before the indictment was made public.
Although it is unclear how big the protests Trump and his allies encouraged will be, law enforcement agencies in New York, Florida, and Washington, D.C., have prepared for them. On Monday, the New York Police Department built steel barricades outside the Manhattan criminal court and installed bike rack fencing surrounding the Capitol.
Trump is the subject of three further judicial inquiries. County of Fulton Dist. Atty. In the weeks following the 2020 election, Fani Willis in Atlanta is considering possible indictments related to Trump's attempts to tamper with the Georgia election results. A section of the long-awaited Georgia special grand jury report was made public in February, but the suggested charges and targets are still unknown.
Jack Smith, a special counsel who was selected by the U.S. Atty. Gen. Merrick Garland is in charge of two investigations: one looking into whether Trump purposefully kept sensitive information after leaving office and disregarded a subpoena to do so, and the other looking into what he did to stay in power after losing the election.
In both investigations, grand juries have met and are currently interviewing witnesses. It will probably be months before the results of the special counsel's investigations lead to potential indictments.
