In a groundbreaking move, the Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict former President Donald Trump in the Stormy Daniels hush money case, according to two sources familiar with the matter, New York Post reported. This decision marks the first-ever criminal prosecution of a former US president.
Since January, the grand jury had been examining evidence and witness testimonies concerning a hush-money payment made on Trump's behalf to adult film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign. The indictment comes as 76-year-old Trump is vying for the 2024 Republican nomination for a third time.
Trump has criticized the investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, calling it a "political witch-hunt" and insisting that he "did absolutely nothing wrong." He has also accused District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, of "prosecutorial misconduct" and claimed that any charges against him would be barred by the statute of limitations.
In 2018, Trump's former personal attorney and fixer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to crimes related to the $130,000 payment to Daniels in exchange for her silence about an alleged affair with Trump in 2006. Trump has denied the affair.
At the time of Cohen's guilty plea, Trump, then president, did not face charges from federal prosecutors over the payments. This led to the launch of the Manhattan DA's probe into the Republican, which has gained momentum in recent months.
Bragg's case is reportedly built on the Daniels payment being made with the intent to conceal or commit another crime. Several figures close to Trump, including former political adviser Kellyanne Conway, ex-spokesperson Hope Hicks, and Cohen, were seen entering the DA's office for meetings with prosecutors in March.
The investigation hinges on the allegation that the crime of falsifying business records-bookkeeping fraud-was committed in conjunction with another crime, a campaign finance violation, as reported by The New York Times. If convicted of bookkeeping fraud as a felony, Trump could face up to four years in prison.
In addition to the Manhattan case, Trump is facing legal exposure on multiple fronts, including a local prosecutor's investigation in Georgia regarding his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, a federal investigation led by a special counsel examining his handling of classified materials post-presidency, and his involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Trump continues to assert his innocence, labeling the investigations as a "witch hunt."
