In a historic move, Donald J. Trump was indicted in Manhattan on Thursday for his role in paying hush money to a porn star, Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 elections by New York grand jury. The ex-president lives in Florida and is expected to travel to New York City for his formal arrest and first hearing in court.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office said it contacted Trump’s attorney to “coordinate his surrender” on an indictment that “remains under seal.” The former president is expected to turn himself in early next week, his attorney Joe Tacopina told reporters.
The charges come after an year long investigation into the matter of a $130,000 pay-out to Stormy Daniels in an attempt to buy her silence over an alleged affair.
Trump is the first former U.S. president to be charged with a crime- which he denies commtting, calls the indictment “political persecution”. Top Republicans have also dismissed the expected indictment as a “politically motivated prosecutorial decision”.
The historic indictment will have broad implications, both on the 2024 campaign trail and on Capitol Hill. Mr Trump is currently the front-runner among all declared and potential contenders for the Republican White House nomination. But there is nothing in US law that prevents a candidate who is found guilty of a crime from campaigning for, and serving as, president – even from prison. However, it is yet to see how this indictment would affect his campaigning. While some belive it would act as a political kick others speculate he would perish. The Democrats may probably not feel nearly as satisfying or generate as much schadenfreude as they imagined.