Manhattan grand jury votes to indict Donald Trump over hush money paid to pornstar Stormy Daniels
A Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict Donald Trump over money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels.
Trump becomes the first former president to face criminal charges, which are expected in the coming days.
It marks the end of a year-long investigation into money paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016, allegedly to buy her silence about her affair.
The impeachment makes him the first former president to be charged with a crime and leads the country into uncharted legal and political territory, with a presidential candidate now facing arrest and the possibility of humiliating court appearances.
It marks a victory for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office, which has been investigating a secret $130,000 payment made by Michael Cohen, a former Trump lawyer and mediator, to Daniels, 44, during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Meanwhile, it also emerged Thursday that New York prosecutors were seeking to indict Trump over a $150,000 payment made to another former Playboy model.
Bragg’s team has cross-examined grand jury witnesses about the cash given to Karen McDougal, who was Playboy magazine’s 1998 ‘Playmate of the Year’.
A Manhattan grand jury voted to indict former President Donald Trump for money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels
A grand jury has been hearing evidence on allegations that Donald Trump paid $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels to buy her silence about his affair.
Meanwhile, it also emerged Thursday that New York prosecutors were seeking to indict Trump over a $150,000 payment made to another former Playboy model.
Trump has always denied having an affair with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.
The allegations came to light while Trump was in office, prompting a federal investigation.
In 2017, Cohen pleaded guilty to eight federal charges, including tax evasion, fraud and campaign finance violations, telling a Manhattan court that Trump had ordered him to make the payments.
But the investigation faded from the headlines when other legal cases focused on Trump’s family business and his actions surrounding the riots on Jan. 6, 2001, and failed to garner attention. But he never left.
Although the Justice Department decided not to charge Trump and the Federal Election Commission was deadlocked on taking action on claims the payment amounted to an unreported campaign contribution, the Manhattan district attorney was still analyzing the case.
And it got a new impetus in early 2023 when Cohen met with investigators from the Manhattan district attorney’s office and word broke that a grand jury was hearing evidence.
Such hearings are held in secret. But one theory was that he was investigating Trump for falsifying business records in connection with the payment, by allegedly misreporting a campaign donation as legal fees.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is one of at least 75 liberal district attorneys who have received millions in funding from George Soros-backed political action committees.
In 2017, former Trump lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to eight federal charges, including tax evasion, fraud and campaign finance violations, telling a court in Manhattan that Trump had ordered him to do the Payments.
Trump used a social media post on Saturday to call on his supporters to protest as he said he expects to be arrested on Tuesday. Helpers say they don’t know the time
The New York Republican Youth Club will hold a protest Monday night. ‘Join us in peaceful protest of Alvin Bragg’s heinous attack on President Donald J. Trump…’ says
That amounts to a misdemeanor. But that becomes a felony if it is committed in conjunction with a second crime, such as a campaign finance violation.
Then, in March, Bragg’s office asked Trump to testify, in the clearest sign yet that he could be impeached.
The former president confirmed as much in a social media post over the weekend, calling on supporters to rise up in protest.
‘The leading Republican candidate by far and former President of the United States of America will be arrested on Tuesday of next week,’ he posted on his Truth Social platform. ‘Protest, take back our nation!’
The final act was reportedly repeated testimony by Trump attorney Robert Costello on Monday.
The former president’s legal team asked him to appear because they might have evidence that contradicted Cohen’s account. Privately, Trump allies are confident the case has little substance.
New York Police Department personnel set up barricades around the Lower Manhattan court complex ahead of the anticipated indictment of former President Donald Trump
A source told DailyMail.com that it strengthens him politically, rallying the base behind him. “It’s very obvious that this is useful,” he said.
He added that to get the second count, elevating the case to a felony, prosecutors would have to prove that Trump wanted to cover up an affair to help his campaign, even though the business mogul’s love life had made headlines. flat in New York for decades. .
“Of course no one wants to be charged, but it’s useful politically and legally, it’s not even a big threat because the case is so weak and it seems overtly political,” the source added.
Legal experts have also weighed in on the flaws in the case.
“While it may be politically popular, the case is legally pathetic,” said Jonathan Turley, Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University in a column for The hill.
‘Bragg is fighting to bend state laws to effectively prosecute a federal case long rejected by the Justice Department against Trump over his payment of @hush money@ to former stripper Stormy Daniels.
‘In 2018 (yes, that’s how long this theory has been around), I wrote how difficult such a federal case would be under existing election laws. Now, six years later, the same theory can be wedged into a state claim.
Meanwhile, news broke Thursday that Manhattan District Attorney Bragg’s team questioned grand jury witnesses about money given to Karen McDougal, who was Playboy magazine’s 1998 Playmate of the Year.
McDougal claims she had a ten-month affair with Trump that began in 2006. Trump’s office released a statement Thursday calling the development a “hoax.”
Evidence about payments to McDougal could be used to bring new charges or establish a “pattern of behavior” for Daniels’ case, the sources told the newspaper. Wall Street Journal which revealed the development.
A Trump spokesman said: “It is sad to see radical Democrats and their partners in the media attempt to resurrect a dead witch hunt.”
“As with every other hoax President Trump has been targeted with, there is no crime except election interference through the use of weapons by our justice system against President Trump and his supporters.”
Bragg’s office and McDougal’s attorney had not commented on the latest developments Thursday afternoon.
American Media Inc, which owns the National Enquirer, paid McDougal $150,000 in 2016 for exclusive rights to the story about her alleged affair with Trump, which he denies. But the purchase was a ‘catch and kill’ tactic to prevent the story from going public.
The Federal Election Commission later ruled that the company and its former president, David Pecker, reached an agreement with Trump officials to cover up the story and “prevent it from influencing the election.”
The FEC ruling detailed how Pecker and AMI met with former Trump fixer Michael Cohen to help suppress negative stories about Trump and his relationships.
And it concluded that AMI “coordinated” with the Trump campaign the payment of $ 150,000 to McDougal. Pecker testified before Trump’s grand jury on Monday.