DManhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has confirmed the charges against former US President Donald Trump. Trump’s office has contacted Trump’s lawyer to coordinate his transfer to New York for arraignment, the Prague office said Thursday evening (local time).
The chargesheet in the case is still under lock and key. More information should follow once a date for Trump’s appearance is set. Earlier, several US media outlets on Thursday unanimously voted to indict Trump in connection with hush payments to a pornographic actress before a so-called grand jury in New York.
Never before in US history has a former president been impeached. The case related to a payment of $130,000 (about 120,000 euros) to Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. The porn star, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, claims she had an affair with Trump in 2006, which he denied.
Paying is not illegal. Rather, the question is whether the payments were misrepresented and could be considered illegal campaign financing. Prosecutors in New York have been investigating the matter for years. The 76-year-old candidate for next year’s presidential election in November denies all allegations.
Trump sees “blatant election meddling”
Trump reacted angrily to the accusation. In a statement, the presidential candidate described himself as the victim of a “witch hunt” by “far-left Democrats.” Accusing the “completely innocent” is “blatant election interference”. “Nothing like this has ever been done in the history of our nation,” Trump added. The charges against him in New York will “backfire” on President Joe Biden. Trump’s lawyer, Tacobina, said: “He has committed no crime. We will vigorously fight this political harassment in the court,” he said.
Meanwhile, Trump’s son Eric Trump said on the online site Truth Social that the allegations were aimed at a “political opponent in an election year.” Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., also wrote on Truth Social that the government was cracking down on his “political opponents.” Trump supporters in the Republican Party were also outraged and called the move “disgraceful.”
On the other hand, prominent Democrat MP Adam Schiff said the charge against the former president was “unique” in the country’s history. “But so is the illegal behavior that Trump is accused of.”
Donald Trump’s ex-lawyer Michael Cohen says the impeachment against the former US president is “just the beginning”. “Now you have to let the indictment do the talking,” Cohen said in a statement to US media. “However, I take comfort in the fact that the adage that no one is above the law, not even a former president, is true,” Cohen said. In this case he is firm in his statement.
Cohen disowned his former client. According to his own reports, he paid hush money to porn star Daniels on Trump’s behalf to avoid damaging Trump’s presidential campaign. Trump and his lawyers have acknowledged the payments, but deny Trump had anything to do with the actress.
Meanwhile, attorney Stormy Daniels said the allegations against Trump were “no reason to be happy.” But truth and justice must prevail,” Clark Brewster wrote on Twitter. “No one is above the law.”
Trump said on March 18 that he would be arrested three days later and called on his supporters to protest. Earlier, indications of a possible indictment were briefed. This sparked fears of riots among officials in New York. The arrest announced by Trump did not take place.
Further investigations in other cases
The Manhattan Grand Jury met in secret. At meetings of the ordinary committee responsible for indictments, a committee headed by Manhattan’s chief attorney general, Alvin Bragg, presented evidence and witnesses could be examined. Several US media reported on Wednesday that a decision on indictments could not be made until the end of April.
Trump isn’t alone in the Justice Department’s eyes on the Stormy Daniels case. Investigations are underway into alleged illegal interference in the 2020 presidential election in South Georgia.
Trump at a campaign event in Texas
Source: Nathan Howard/AP/dpa
A U.S. special investigator is investigating Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol and the removal of a trove of classified documents from the White House to Trump’s private estate, Mar-a-Lago, after the Republican’s term ended. . However, Trump has not been charged in all three investigations, at least so far.
A trial that could see Republicans face years in prison and a possible conviction could politically hurt his party and his plans to run for president again based on Republican support. Purely legally, on the other hand, according to legal experts, Trump could theoretically stand as a convicted felon in the 2024 presidential election.
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