A grand jury in Manhattan voted on Thursday to indict Donald Trump—the first time a former U. S. President — has faced criminal charges.
The historic indictment comes in a case centered on $130,000 in payments to adult film star, Stormy Daniels, during the closing days of the 2016 presidential campaign. Daniels claimed she slept with the married Trump in 2006, a claim the former president has denied. Trump had classified his reimbursement of the payout as a legal expense.
A spokesperson for the DA’s office confirmed the indictment in a statement Thursday night. The tentative plan is for Trump to appear before acting Justice Juan Merchan after 2:15 p.m. on Tuesday for his felony arraignment, two officials familiar with the matter said. Merchan presided over the DA’s successful tax fraud prosecution ofTrump’s company last year.
The exact charge or charges against Trump is unknown because indictments are typically filed in court under seal after a grand jury’s vote in New York. The DA was known to be focusing on a felony charge of falsifying business records. That charge carries a maximum prison sentence of four years.
However, Trump blasted the news in a statement on Thursday evening. “This is Political p£rsecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history,” he said in a statement. “The Democrats have lied, ch£ated and st%len in their obsession with trying to ‘Get Trump,’ but now they’ve done the unthinkable — indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference.”
Trump has, however, repeatedly denied any wrongdoing related to the probe and called the investigation by Democratic Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s office a continuation of the partisan “w#tchhunt” against him.
