Donald Trump was indicted in the Stormy Daniels hush money probe, a historic legal development marking the first criminal charges in U.S. ever brought against a current or former U.S. president.
Donald Trump was indicted Thursday by a Manhattan grand jury in the Stormy Daniels hush money probe, a historic legal development marking the first criminal charges in U.S. ever brought against a current or former U.S. president. The papers were filed at about 5:30 p.m. under seal at the clerk’s office in Manhattan Supreme Court.
Not even Trump knows what he’s charged with. But leaks to the New York Times and CNN in the wake of the indictment indicated he faces up to 34 criminal counts related to business fraud.
Sometimes prosecutors file papers under seal, as DA Bragg’s office did in Trump’s case. The charges are set to be revealed once Trump is in court to enter his plea. The charges are expected to relate at least in part to hush moneys payment made to women Trump allegedly had extramarital sexual encounters with in the lead-up to his 2016 election as president, of which the grand jury heard evidence.
The DA’s years-long investigation also explored Trump’s financial and business habits, according to court filings, and shared evidence with investigators from the New York attorney general’s office, which is suing the Trump Organization for $250 million for large-scale business fraud.
While Trump could technically fight extradition, his lawyer Joe Tacopina has said there won’t be a standoff at Mar-a-Lago between the Manhattan DA and the Secret Service, but that Trump will turn himself in at the Manhattan DA’s office on Tuesday, when he will fingerprinted and have his mugshot taken.
