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(CNN) According to multiple sources familiar with the matter, Donald Trump was indicted by a grand jury in Manhattan – the first time in American history that a current or former president has faced criminal charges.
The indictment has been sealed and filed and will be announced shortly. The accusations are not publicly known at this time, a source told CNN.
The DA’s office has been investigating the former president in connection with his alleged role in a hush-money payment scheme and cover-up involving adult film star Stormy Daniels dating back to the 2016 presidential election. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office will reach out to Trump’s attorneys to discuss his surrender to face arraignment.
The decision is sure to shock the nation, and the American political system will be plunged into uncharted waters while former leaders have never faced criminal charges, let alone run for president. will be
Mr Trump issued a statement in response to the indictment, which he claimed was “the highest level of political persecution and election interference in history.”
“I believe this witch hunt is going to hit Joe Biden hard,” the former president said. “The American people know exactly what the Radical Left Democrats are doing here. Everyone can see it. Be strong and beat Alvin Bragg first, then Joe Biden, we’re going to banish every single one of these crooked Democrats so we can make America great again !”
Trump’s attorney, Alina Habba, said in a statement that Trump “is a victim of a corrupt and distorted version of America’s justice system and history. He will be proven.”
Farther away, Trump was caught off guard by the grand jury’s decision to indict, according to a person who spoke directly with Trump.
“Is this a shock today?
The lawsuit against Trump will shake the 2024 presidential campaign to a new level. The former president has vowed to keep running despite criminal charges.
Trump has called the various investigations surrounding him a “witch hunt” and is trying to sway public opinion by calling himself the victim of a political investigation led by Democratic prosecutors. As her indictment neared, Trump urged her supporters to protest the arrest and repeated calls for action to reverse his defeat to President Joe Biden after the 2020 election.
Trump has long avoided legal consequences in his personal, professional and political life. Over the years, he has settled numerous private and civil lawsuits, settling disputes over the Trump Organization that gave him his name. As president, he has twice been impeached by the Democratic-led House of Representatives, but has avoided conviction by the Senate.
In December, the Trump Organization was found guilty of multiple tax evasion charges, but Trump himself was never charged in the case.
Trump’s Republican supporters, like his Republican rivals in 2024, are blaming the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for the looming indictments, and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has vowed to open an investigation into the matter. .
Republicans rally in Trump’s defense
Republicans in Congress quickly rallied in Trump’s defense, attacking Bragg on Twitter and accusing the district attorney of conducting a political witch hunt.
House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (Ohio), one of the Republican committee chairs, tweeted that it was “outrageous” and demanded that Bragg testify before Congress about the Trump investigation.
Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz called the indictment “completely unprecedented” and said it was a “devastating escalation in the weaponization of the justice system.”
But at least one Republican centrist told CNN he has faith in the legal system.
“I believe in the rule of law. I think we have checks and balances. I trust that system,” said Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska.
“We have a judge. We have a jury. We have an appeal. If not, I think it will show that as well,” Bacon told CNN. .
Investigation launched under Cy Vance
Bragg’s office indicated it was ready to indict Trump in early March after asking the former president to testify before a grand jury investigating the hush-price system. Potential defendants are required by law to be notified and invited to appear before a grand jury to consider charges. However, Trump ultimately declined to attend the panel.
The lengthy investigation was first launched under Bragg’s predecessor, Cy Vance, when Trump was in office. It relates to a $130,000 payment to Daniels by Trump’s then personal attorney, Michael Cohen, in late October 2016, days before the 2016 presidential election. Deny.
At issue in the investigation are payments to Daniels and Trump Organization reimbursements to Cohen.
According to Cohen’s own federal prosecutor’s court filings, Trump Organization executives paid a total of $420,000 to cover his initial $130,000 payment and tax liability, and to reward him with bonuses. Authorized to pay him. The Trump Organization recorded the reimbursement as a legal expense on its internal books. Trump denied knowledge of the payment.
This story is broken and will be updated.
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