A New York grand jury has voted to indict Former President Donald Trump in his connection to alleged hush money payments that were made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the lead up to the 2016 election.
President Trump now becomes the first President in U.S. History to be indicted and charged with a crime.
The investigation revolved around alleged hush money payments that the Trump campaign made in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election. Donald Trump’s alleged extramarital affairs with adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal were making headlines. Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen allegedly paid $130,000 to Daniels and facilitated a $150,000 payment to McDougal, an act that has led to a criminal investigation and a scandal that has rocked the Trump’s circle.
The investigation into the hush money scandal has been led by the Southern District of New York DA Alan Bragg, who has been examining whether the payments were made with campaign funds and, if so, whether they were properly reported. Campaign finance laws limit the amount of money that can be donated to a candidate’s campaign, and prohibit the use of corporate funds to influence an election.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing, saying that the payments were a private matter and that they did not violate campaign finance laws. He has also sought to distance himself from Cohen, describing him as a liar and a “rat” who was seeking to reduce his own sentence by implicating the president.
In a statement, Trump wrote “This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history. From the time I came down the golden escalator at Trump Tower, and even before I was sworn in as your President of the United States, the Radical Left Democrats – the enemy of the hard-working men and women of this Country – have been engaged in a Witch-Hunt to destroy the Make America Great Again movement. You remember it just like I do: Russia, Russia, Russia; the Mueller Hoax; Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine; Impeachment Hoax 1; Impeachment Hoax 2; the illegal and unconstitutional Mar-a-Lago raid; and now this. 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, who was reportedly “caught off guard” by the indictment will now be expected to appear in court to defend his case. If proven guilty, Trump faces serious criminal charges and legal issues. The indictment joins a wide array of other legal crises that the former President faces including a grand jury trial in Georgia to examine his role in attempting to overturning the 2020 election, and his removal of government and classified records from the White House after his term as President ended.