Former president of the United States, Donald Trump, has been indicted in New York City. This means he has been formally charged with a crime by a grand jury and marks the formal beginning of a criminal case against him.
Donald Trump will face criminal charges after a probe into $130,000 hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels, becoming the first former US president to face criminal charges even as he makes another run for the White House, a law enforcement source said on Thursday. There is no specific case made to him yet but it is likely to be announced in the coming days.
According to Michael Cohen, the former president’s personal lawyer, Trump ordered hush payments to Stormy Daniels and a second, former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who also claimed she had a sexual relationship with him. Stormy Daniels, approached media outlets in 2016 and offered to sell her account of what she claimed was an adulterous affair she had with Donald Trump in 2006, the year after he married his current wife, Melania Trump. Trump has denied having an affair with either of the women.
Read also: Donald Trump: Indicted for giving hush money to former porn star
Trump’s lawyer, Susan Necheles, said in a statement: “He did not commit any crime. We will vigorously fight this political prosecution in court.”
The grand jury was following the facts, according to top Democrats, and Trump should honor the legal system. He will be following the same legal process as the rest of the citizens in the country.
“There will be no reason to cuff him and walk him into police headquarters to be booked,” Kirschner said. “There will still be a mug shot, fingerprints and lots of paperwork filled out as part of the booking process. So we will see a mug shot of a former President of the United States but I do not think we’re going to see a perp walk.”
To emphasize the case’s unprecedented nature, Trump is expected to be accompanied through the process by his Secret Service detail, as former presidents are afforded such protection for life.
“The Grand Jury has acted upon the facts and the law. No one is above the law, and everyone has the right to a trial to prove innocence,” Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the longtime speaker of the House, wrote on Twitter. ““Hopefully, the former President will peacefully respect the system, which grants him that right.”
According to Hindustan Times, Trump is also the subject of two criminal investigations, one by a special counsel named by US Attorney General Merrick Garland and the other by a Georgia prosecutor.
Many Republican leaders had already come out in support of the former president before the charges were announced, with former US Vice President Mike Pence calling the idea of indicting a former president “deeply troubling,” and New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu suggesting that Trump was being unfairly targeted.
