Donald Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury

The grand jury indicts Stormy Daniels for allegedly lying to the public about her affair with Trump and his alleged affair with Michael Cohen

Multiple sources say that the grand jury indicted the former president in connection with the Stormy Daniels case.

For the first time in American history, a grand jury has indicted a former president of the United States, The Times reported on Thursday. Donald Trump spent years as a candidate, in office and out of office, ignoring democratic and legal norms and precedents, trying to bend the Justice Department and the judiciary to his whims and behaving as if rules didn’t apply to him.

Trump and his attorneys have called the investigation a witch hunt. Bragg is referred to as a racist by them.

The grand jury has been looking into the payments that Michael Cohen made to Stormy Daniels in exchange for not going public with allegations that she had an affair with Trump.

The yearslong investigation into the blackmail scheme involving porn star Stormy Daniels has resulted in an indictment. The $130,000 payment made by Trump to Daniels was used to keep her from talking about her alleged affair with Trump a decade earlier. Trump has denied the affair. According to court filings in Cohen’s own federal prosecution, Trump Org. To make up for his original payment and tax liabilities, he was given a bonus of $420,000 by executives. The payment was denied by Trump.

The case of Donald Trump: he’ll have to fight the witch hunt, or will he get rid of Joe Biden? A New York prosecutor faces Class E felony charges in the wake of his 2018 election

Two people familiar with the investigation tell NPR that it is due to a pre-planned break that begins next week.

Grand Jury proceedings are secret. There’s no room for prosecutors to speak about them, so jurors can only ask for more information, and time for deliberations, at the end of grand jury investigations.

Cohen pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years in prison in federal court in 2018, when he said he made the payments “at the direction” of Donald Trump. Records show that Trump reimbursed Cohen for the payment, despite his company’s claims to the contrary. In New York, that could be a Class E felony, punishable by up to four years in prison.

We contacted Mr. Trump’s lawyer tonight in order to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan office of the Supreme Court, which is under seal. Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected,” a spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said in a statement Thursday evening.

The statute of limitations doesn’t apply because Trump has resided outside of the state for more than a year.

Donald Trump will become the first former president to face criminal charges — and it’s happening right in the middle of a presidential primary campaign.

The decision is sure to send shockwaves across the country, pushing the American political system – which has never seen one of its ex-leaders confronted with criminal charges, let alone while running again for president – into uncharted waters.

MONTANARO: He’s going to try to use it more and try to fire up his base as well. I think he’s already doing that. He said that the indictment was political persecution, blatant election interference, and a witch hunt that will backfire on Democrats. Trump has the support of Republicans on Capitol Hill. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy called the indictment an abuse of power. Jim Jordan made a one-word statement. All it said – outrageous. You go.

The former president believes the Witch-Hunt will backfire on Joe Biden. The American people are aware of what the Radical Left Democrats are doing. Everyone can see it. We will defeat Joe Biden after that and then we will get rid of the last one of these Democrats in office so that we can make America great again.

Indictment of Donald Trump and the Case of a Corrupt and Distorted American Judicial Law: A New Phase in the 2024 Presidential Campaign

The lawyer for Donald Trump said that his client is a victim of a corrupt and distorted version of the American justice system. He will be vindicated.”

The legal action against Trump jolts the 2024 presidential campaign into a new phase – where the former president has vowed to keep running in the face of criminal charges.

Trump has long avoided legal consequences in his personal, professional and political lives. He has settled a number of private civil lawsuits through the years and paid his way out of disputes concerning the Trump Organization, his namesake company. He was impeached by the House twice but was not convicted by the Senate.

Republican allies of Donald Trump, as well as his rivals for the GOP Presidential nomination, condemned the Manhattan district attorney’s office over the upcoming indictment. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has promised to launch an investigation into the matter.

“Outrageous,” tweeted House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio, one of the Republican committee chairmen who has demanded Bragg testify before Congress about the Trump investigation.

The number two House Republican – Majority Leader Steve Scalise – called it “outrageous.” The indictment was one of the clearest examples of Democrats weaponizing government to attack their political opponents.

The congressman told CNN he trusts the system. “We have a judge. We have jurors. There is appeals. So I think in the end, justice will be done. It will show up if he is guilty. I think that will be shown if not.

People with knowledge of the case said prosecutors had asked at least one witness questions about a $150,000 payment made by the National Enquirer to the model who said she had an affair with Trump.

The witness was asked if he knew about other stories bought by American Media Inc. The people said Trump had a history with David Pecker, his friend and former chairman of American Media, of buying negative stories and planting positive ones. The Manhattan grand jury heard from Pecker for the second time.

The AMI investigation into the alleged affair with a woman in New York is criminally based on the rule of law. The Manhattan district attorney is not interested in extradite Trump

It was unclear if the payment was being used as part of the investigation or as a means of establishing a pattern of deals.

As part of its non-prosecution agreement, AMI admitted to making the $150,000 payment in cooperation with some members of Trump’s campaign in order to prevent McDougal’s claims of an affair from becoming public. In August 2015, Pecker met with Cohen, as well as at least one other member of the campaign.

Cohen, Pecker, and one or more members of the campaign had a meeting in August of 2015. At that meeting, Pecker offered to help the campaign identify stories about the presidential candidate’s relationship with women that could be purchased and their publication avoided.

The possible Republican primary field found a way to attack the Manhattan district attorney with no praise for Donald Trump.

All this plays into Trump’s air of grievance, really, that he’s used to propel his political fortunes – you know, that the left is out for him; that, in turn, also his supporters, they’re out to get; that the system is rigged; and that this indictment and investigation in New York, nothing more than a politically motivated attempt to derail his presidential campaign.

The rule of law is turned on it’s head by the weaponization of the legal system. It is un-American,” DeSantis tweeted. The Manhattan District Attorney has bent the law to justify criminal behavior and downgrade felonies. He is extending the law to target a political opponent.

“I wouldn’t assist in an effort to extradite Trump, who is a Florida resident,” the congressman said. Trump is expected to appear in court on Tuesday in New York, where he had lived most of his life.

The case of Alvin Bragg: The political consequences of the 2021 January riot against a former vice president and a U.S. Senator

Former Vice President Mike Pence, for years one of Trump’s most ardent defenders before offering some measured criticism after the January 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol, called the indictment of his former boss “an outrage” and suggested that Bragg was politically motivated.

The idea of the majority of the American people who believe in fairness and equal treatment before the law is offended by the fact that a Manhattan district attorney targeted one American in his campaign.

The Virginia governor sent a similar message to his followers on social media. Like DeSantis and others, he focused on Bragg and ignored the substance of the charges against Trump.

“It is beyond belief that District Attorney Alvin Bragg has indicted a former President and current presidential candidate for pure political gain,” Youngkin said. Arresting a presidential candidate is not something that should happen in America.

The only Republicans besides Trump to formally declare their candidacy is Haley, who was Trump’s first ambassador to the UN. She too toed a middle ground, tweeting, “This is more about revenge than it is about justice,” and posted a clip of a recent Fox News interview in which she denounced Bragg’s case as a “political prosecution.”

Bragg has been accused of undermining America’s trust in our legal system by another Trump Cabinet official.

South Carolina Senator Tim Scott railed against Bragg in a statement as he made his way through Iowa.

Asa Hutchinson, a more ardent critic of Trump than other potential candidates, gave a more measured take, but still protecting his toughest criticism for the prosecutor.

He said that it was necessary for the decision about America’s next President to be made at the ballot box. Donald Trump isn’t the next President, but that should be decided by the voters.

But even as the GOP falls in line behind Trump, the political fallout remains unclear. Trump commands a deeply loyal following and leads in most early primary polls. Still, voters largely rejected his favored candidates during the midterms and his indictment will raise further questions about his viability in 2024.

Why the Deep State will kill YOU if you don’t: Chris Christie, Chris Sununu, Chris Bragg, and the New Jersey gov. Chris Chapman

“The Deep State will use anything at their disposal to shut down the one political movement that puts YOU first,” his campaign said in a Thursday evening email to supporters.

“It has been over 24 hours and some people are still quiet. History will judge their silence,” a Trump campaign account tweeted after Trump first said earlier this month that he would be arrested.

At a news conference in Panama City, he joked that he wasn’t aware of what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to keep their alleged affair a secret. I can not speak to that.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie – who ran against Trump in 2016, then became an ally ahead of the 2020 election before reversing course and insisting this week that he would never back Trump again – was silent on Thursday night. He predicted in a recent interview that an indictment would help the former president among Republican voters, and criticized Bragg.

Christie said that this is not a crime of the century, and that it will not improve the everyday lives of the citizens of Manhattan.

Republican Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire told CNN’s Jake Tapper earlier this month that he needed more information before making a judgment, instead turning his ire at political opponents and the press.

“I just think that the – not just the media, but really a lot of the Democrats have misplayed this, in terms of building sympathy for the former president,” Sununu said. “And it does drastically change the paradigm as we go into the ’24 election.”

The New York Penal Code and the Indictment against Donald J. Brang of a Former Attorney General Michael Cohen: A Political Witch Hunt?

First appearances are usually public proceedings. In some cases, arrangements are made with defendants or their lawyers for a self-surrender – or voluntarily turning themselves in – to law enforcement.

CNN has learned that the former president is expected to appear in court on Tuesday after turning himself in, and is likely to be allowed to do so voluntarily.

Key House Republican leaders lined up to defend former President Donald Trump on Thursday following the news that Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury – a sign of the powerful grasp Trump still has on his party on Capitol Hill.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy tweeted that “The American people will not tolerate this injustice,” as he criticized Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. “The House of Representatives will hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account,” he said.

Rep. Elise Stefanik, the House GOP conference chair, released a statement saying the indictment was “a political witch hunt” and a “dark day for America.”

Key congressional Republicans responded as the indictment against Trump was filed under seal and will be announced soon. The charges are not publicly known at this time, one source told CNN.

“President Donald Trump always fought for us. He is against the interests of the American people. The powerful will never stop coming for him because of that.

Although he has admitted reimbursing Cohen for any money paid to Daniels, Trump has denied having an affair with her.

Wehle. Well, it sounds like what people are expecting is a violation of New York Penal Code, Section 175.10, which is falsifying business records in the first degree. It is illegal to lie in business records. If that was done with an intent to commit another crime, then it’s a felony. I believe the payoff of Ms. Daniels by Michael Cohen is a crime, as he was her former lawyer. And then, according to Michael Cohen, Donald Trump paid him back in $35,000 installments as a legal retainer fee when there was no actual legal services provided. So the question is, why would you hide that if it didn’t matter to the 2016 presidential election and how voters were going to assess the presidential candidates, which is quite serious, even if the charge itself does not seem to reach kind of the heights that some people would expect for a former president.

The two lead prosecutors on the case quit. One wrote in his resignation letter, “a decision made in good faith may nevertheless be wrong. I think that your decision to not prosecute Donald Trump now is contrary to the public interest.

Bragg moved forward with prosecutions in a more limited tax fraud conspiracy. He obtained convictions against Trump’s former chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, and two Trump corporate entities, for evading taxes by compensating Weisselberg and others with undeclared benefits like a luxury apartment and cars. At the trial, the checks were signed by the president, but he wasn’t charged.

Many legal experts say they think the criminal case Bragg is likely to bring could be tough to prove in court. The New York state statutes could be somewhat awkward in regards to Cohen’s alleged crimes.

Trump’s actions run afoul of New York law, according to Mark Pomerantz, a veteran prosecutor who helped lead the DA office’s probe that started under Vance and who later resigned.

“The money wasn’t for legal services,” Pomerantz told NPR’s Fresh Air last month. “That’s how the payments were documented.” So the documentation of the reimbursement involved the creation of false business records, which is a crime under New York law.”

Cohen told Congress that he and Trump spoke about the payments at the White House one month into the president’s presidency.

Cohen said that he was seeing different paintings and pointing them out. “And he says to me something to the effect of, ‘Don’t worry, Michael. You will get your January and February reimbursement checks in a few weeks. They were FedEx’d from New York. And it takes a while for that to get through the White House system.’

“As he promised, I received the first check for the reimbursement of $70,000 not long thereafter,” Cohen said, referring to the payment that combined two monthly installments.

The Inside Story: Donald Trump’s ‘Witch Hunt’ at the New York Criminal Courts Building: Andrea Bernstein, CNN’s Adrian Bernstein and the Particle Spectator

SUMMERS: The former president has been talking about this idea for a long time. But Andrea, what is his official response now that the indictment has happened?

Trump’s social media response is much more heated. This is the highest level of election interference in history, according to him. I think this witch hunt is going to backfire on Joe Biden. The American people realize exactly what the radical left Democrats are doing here.

BERNSTEIN: So typically, a defendant is notified and makes arrangements to surrender to authorities. We don’t know when that will be. It takes a number of days, but nothing is usual about this case. Procedure calls for a defendant to turn themselves in, usually early in the morning, to the Criminal Courts Building in Lower Manhattan to get fingerprinted and processed and then to walk to the courtroom, usually in handcuffs. We do not know what is going to happen this time. Trump will face a judge and plead not guilty.

The summers are here. And of course, this is a developing story. We’re looking forward to hearing more from you and our other reporters and correspondents covering this over the next few days. Thank you, NPR’sAndrea Bernstein.

An NPR contractor creates NPR transcripts quickly. In the future, this text may be updated or revised. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

What Happens When the New York Grand Jury Decisions to Indict Donald Trump? — A Reply to W.D. Wehle

Floorido: We’ve been speaking with former U.S. attorney and law professor Kim Wehle about the New York grand jury’s decision to indict former President Donald Trump. Thank you.

Wehle. I’m not, even though we’ve been hand-wringing over it for many days now. It’s great to have it happen. Hopefully the real terms of the indictment will come to fruition in the future. It’s hard to do a fair analysis until we see that, I think.

FLORIDO: I noted that we do not yet know the charges that he faces but you know the legal code. What charges might the former president be facing?

WEHLE: I think that it’s a Class E felony, so it could get you four years in prison. I think it’s – you know, that’s way, way down the line. We have to get through many hurdles. Due process applies to Mr. Trump. And I think it’s really important to distinguish, you know, political stakes from legal stakes, and there are a lot of procedural, evidentiary and constitutional protections in place to make sure, you know, that that far-off question is fairly adjudicated.

FLORIDO: We have about 20 seconds left. We don’t know when charges are going to be formally announced, but can you give us a quick glimpse of what happens next?

WEHLE: Well, he – I mean, he will either be arrested or would show up for an arraignment, and then he would enter a plea. You know, I worked on the Whitewater investigation many years ago. Bill Clinton was before a jury and there were quite a few special circumstances.

The things were given to him. My expectation is that if Donald Trump accepts them, he will be given a similar level of respect as a former president.

The first former American president to face charges during his first presidential-primary-run: Trumps’ historical indictment comes to an end during his presidency

Two thirds of the people think the charges in New York are not serious and 6 in 10 think the investigation is politically motivated. This decision is not done by a prosecutor or a judge, but by a grand jury. And remember, a grand jury hears evidence from a prosecutor, then decides whether there’s enough there to file criminal charges against a suspect. And, you know, if it’s a conspiracy, you know, a jury of his peers appears to be in on it.

MONTANARO: Not really. Gerald Ford controversially pardoned Richard Nixon and he never faced charges. You have to travel back to 1872 in order to find a president who was arrested. The President was arrested for speeding in D.C. while on a horse drawn carriage. But, you know, let’s not overlook the fact that Trump is now the first former American president to face criminal charges.

Source: https://www.npr.org/2023/03/30/1167254662/trumps-historic-indictment-comes-during-his-presidential-primary-run

Preserving Democracy and the Ruling Patriots. What Stephanie Clifford Really Wants to Know about the Investigation into the Trump-Born-Infeld Investigation

So that’s a pretty big wild card, especially when, according to our poll, a significant number of people ranked preserving democracy as high on their list of most important issues facing the country. That’s true of persuadable voters. According to Independents, preserving democracy is second behind the economy. Trump’s brand, we know, has been toxic in competitive states in the last few elections, and he’s at risk with independents. Majorities don’t have a good opinion of him and believe he shouldn’t be president.

It’s very difficult to say. because 80% of them say they have a favorable opinion of Trump. Most people want him to be president, and there are no Republicans who are making a sustained effort against him.

Flaorido: Of course, this is a developing story. We’re going to hear from you over the next few days. Thank you, Domenico Montanaro.

What Daniels has said: For her part, Daniels, also known as Stephanie Clifford, met in March with prosecutors from the Manhattan district attorney’s office probing the payment, according to a tweet sent by her attorney, who said Daniels had “responded to questions and has agreed to make herself available as a witness, or for further inquiry if needed.”

Her lawyer said that the book was written to prove her story that she’d had sex with the president, as she described it in graphic detail.

The Rise to the Pizzagate Conspiracy Theory: The Rise of the GRU Insights into a Russian Metric Operation

In the election, in which he lost the popular vote but won a few states, he was aided by the fact that he won 10,064 voters in Michigan and 46,765 in Pennsylvania. That effort was funded in part by oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is now behind the brutal combat of his Wagner Group mercenary army in Ukraine, which targeted US social media companies and activists on the ground. According to the US Department of Justice’s exhaustive report, in the second arm of the Russian operation, the military intelligence service GRU hacked top Democratic officials, leaked their emails, and shifted the national narrative around Clinton and other Democrats. The rise to the Pizzagate conspiracy theory is linked to this.