According to two sources familiar with the investigation, a Manhattan grand jury has indicted former US president Donald Trump on more than 30 counts of commercial fraud.
This is the first time in American history that a president, living or dead, has been charged with a crime.
Trump will likely show up in court on Tuesday, April 4.
The indictment was submitted under seal and will be made public soon. At this moment, the charges are not well recognized.
The former president is being looked into by the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office in relation to his alleged involvement in a cover-up and hush money payment plot involving adult film star Stormy Daniels that stretches back to the 2016 presidential election. Although grand jury hearings are private, a source with knowledge of the investigation told CNN that a witness spoke for roughly 30 minutes before the grand jury decided to indict Trump.
During the final weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign, Stormy Daniels allegedly received a payment of $130,000. Trump has refuted Daniels’s assertion that she had sex with him while they were married in 2006. To his then-lawyer, Trump had categorized his repayment of the money as a legal expense.
Bragg’s office said it is in touch with Trump’s lawyers.
“This evening we contacted Mr. Trump’s attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan D.A.’s Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal,” the district attorney’s office said in a statement Thursday. “Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected.”
Trump released a statement in response to the indictment claiming it was “Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history.”
“I believe this Witch-Hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden,” the former president said. “The American people realize exactly what the Radical Left Democrats are doing here. Everyone can see it. So our Movement, and our Party – united and strong – will first defeat Alvin Bragg, and then we will defeat Joe Biden, and we are going to throw every last one of these Crooked Democrats out of office so we can MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
