Trump Indicted In New York, Expected To Be Arraigned Next Week

[Al Jazeera] Former United States President Donald Trump has been indicted in relation to a New York investigation into an alleged hush-money payment made to a porn star ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

After weeks of speculation, a New York grand jury voted on Thursday to indict Trump, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, making him the first former president to face criminal prosecution in US history.

The specific charges are not yet known, and the indictment will likely be announced in the coming days. The office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg issued a statement saying prosecutors are working with Trump’s lawyers to arrange his surrender.

It also affirmed that, for now, the charges will remain under seal. “Guidance will be provided when the arraignment [court appearance] date is selected,” the district attorney’s office said through a spokesperson.

In a statement released through his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump called the indictment “political persecution and election interference at the highest level in history”.

He said the case was part of a coordinated “witch hunt” against him, adding that he is completely innocent.

The New York investigation centres on a $130,000 payment that Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal lawyer and fixer, made to porn star Stormy Daniels in the waning days of the former president’s 2016 campaign.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, said she had an affair with Trump starting in 2006. Cohen said he paid her on Trump’s orders.

The former president has denied the affair and said the payment was to protect his reputation from a false accusation, insisting that he did nothing wrong.

Ahead of Thursday’s indictment, Daniels reportedly beefed up security over a series of death threats for in Trump’s expected arrest. Her lawyer said in 2018 that she was physically threatened and warned to remain silent about her relationship Trump.

Several US media outlets had reported that the potential charges relate to the way Trump reimbursed Cohen, with prosecutors alleging he improperly labelled the payments as legal expenses.

If the payment is determined to be a campaign donation, it could also have violated election laws that cap contributions to political candidates at $2,700 per individual and require them to be made public.

Trump said earlier this month that he faced potential arrest over the case. He is expected to be fingerprinted and photographed when he surrenders to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in New York early next week, Al Jazeera’s Gabriel Elizondo reported from New York, but it remains unclear when that will happen.

Trump has called on his supporters to protest in a fiery social media post that raised concerns about potential violence — especially in light of the January 6, 2021 storming of the US Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.

He also appealed for more money for his legal defence, raising more than $2m since March 18, according to his campaign.