Following an investigation into a hush money payment operation, Donald Trump has been charged. This is what we do know.
The nation has entered new political, legal, and historical seas as a result of the former president Donald Trump’s indictment by a New York grand jury, and numerous uncertainties remain over the course of the criminal case.
In relation to his alleged involvement in a cover-up and hush money payment plan involving adult film star Stormy Daniels that dates to the 2016 presidential election, the Manhattan district attorney’s office has been looking into Trump.
Trump and his allies have already attacked Bragg and the grand jury’s decision, branding it “political persecution and election interference at the greatest level in history” despite the fact that the indictment, which has been filed under seal, has not yet been made public.
Here is what is now known about Trump’s indictment.
What is the alleged offense?
According to CNN, Trump is charged with more than 30 counts of corporate fraud in the indictment. It continues to be sealed.
The time of the former president’s appearance is uncertain, but it is anticipated that he will be charged in Manhattan criminal court on Tuesday. The Manhattan district attorney’s office is looking into a $130,000 payment that Trump’s then-personal attorney Michael Cohen made to Daniels in late October 2016, just days before the 2016 presidential election, to prevent her from speaking out about an alleged affair with Trump ten years earlier. The investigation got started when Trump was still in the White House. Trump has refuted the relationship.
Which possible charges are involved?
The payment made to Daniels and Cohen’s reimbursement by the Trump Organization have both been the subject of the investigation.
Trump Org. was named in court documents when Cohen was charged with federal crimes. Executives permitted him to receive payments totaling $420,000 to settle his first $130,000 payout, his tax obligations, and a bonus. The refunds were recorded in the company’s internal books as a legal expense. Trump has said that he was unaware of the payment. Payments made in secret are not prohibited.
Before the indictment, prosecutors debated whether to accuse Trump of misrepresenting the Trump Organization’s financial records over how they represented the repayment of the payment to Cohen, who claimed to have advanced the funds to Daniels. In New York, falsifying company records is a misdemeanor.
In addition, prosecutors were considering whether to charge Trump with falsifying business records in the first degree, which is defined as falsifying a record with the purpose of committing an offense, aiding an offense, or concealing an offense.
In this case, the offense may have involved breaking campaign finance laws. This is a Class E felony that carries a minimum one-year term and a maximum four-year sentence. Prosecutors would have to demonstrate that Trump meant to commit a crime in order to win their case.
The New York State populace is against Donald J. Trump
The order approving Bragg’s request to make the sealed grand jury indictment public was approved by the judge presiding over the case against Trump on Thursday.
The case name, The People of the State of New York v. Donald J. Trump, appears at the top of the order.
According to the document, Judge Juan Merchan stated in his ruling that the revelation would be “in the public interest and a reasonable exercise of this Court’s power.”
What was Trump’s response?
According to a person who spoke with Trump personally, the grand jury’s decision to indict him caught him off guard. The former president started to believe press reports that a possible indictment was weeks – or more – away when he was ready for an indictment last week.
On the news of the indictment, the former president proceeded to bash Bragg and other Democrats while vehemently denying any culpability in the subject.
In a message released on Thursday, the former president predicted that Joe Biden would suffer a severe setback from the witch hunt. The American public is fully aware of what the Radical Left Democrats are up to. Everyone is aware of it. Thus, our Movement and our Party will defeat Alvin Bragg first, then Joe Biden, and we will remove every single one of these Corrupt Democrats from office in order to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! ”
What will happen to Trump next?
The former president was first ordered to turn himself up on Friday in New York, according to his lawyer, but his defense argued that additional time was required and he is now scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.
The former president’s first court appearance will resemble that of any other defendant in certain respects but differ greatly in others.
Initial meetings are often open to the public. Agreements are formed with the defendant or their attorneys for a willing surrender to law enforcement if an arrest of the defendant is not required. Normally, when a defendant appears in court for the first time, they are booked and fingerprinted. Also, a plea is anticipated to be entered if a first appearance doubles as an arraignment.
Should a case is brought against Trump, he will need to go through the same procedures that every other defendant must go through. Yet given that he is already campaigning for president again, Trump’s status as a past leader would surely raise more practical and security issues over what should happen next.
Is this an unusual circumstance?
Yes. This is the first time in American history that a president, living or dead, has been charged with a crime.
Even just that makes it noteworthy. Trump, though, is only a few months into his third campaign for the White House, and his criminal case throws the 2024 election into a new phase because the former president has pledged to continue running despite being charged with a crime.
What does this signify politically for him?
One of the many important questions in this situation is that. Republicans in Congress have so far come to Trump’s support, criticizing Bragg on Twitter and charging the district attorney with conducting a political witch hunt.
Jim Jordan of the House Judiciary Committee, a Republican who has pushed for Bragg to testify before Congress over the Trump investigation, called it “outrageous” in a tweet.
The indictment was dubbed “totally unprecedented” by Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, who also referred to it as “a disastrous escalation in the weaponization of the justice system.”
Also, according to sources close to Trump, as part of their response to the indictment, Trump and his staff will launch surrogates to attack Democrats, the investigation, and Bragg across a variety of media platforms in an effort to control the public narrative.
Can Trump still run for president while being charged with a crime?
Yes.
