A Manhattan County grand jury voted to indict former US President Donald Trump in a criminal case of paying porn actress Stormy Daniels $130,000. for silence. She received money from Trump's lawyers ahead of the 2016 election. This is reported by The New York Times (NYT), citing sources, the information was confirmed by the prosecutor's office. CNN, citing two sources familiar with the case, reports that there are more than thirty counts of fraud in the case against Trump.
The Financial Times also reports that after appearing in court, Trump will be arrested, fingerprinted and photographed for a dossier, then he will answer the question of whether he admits his guilt, after which he will be released on bail. Prosecutors have already contacted Trump's lawyers to negotiate the politician's detention. Most likely, this can happen on Tuesday, April 4th. Trump became the first ex-President of the United States to be charged in a criminal case.
The governor of Florida, where Trump's residence is located, said state authorities would not respond to an extradition request if it was sent by the New York prosecutor's office.
Within a few days, by decision of the district prosecutor, the text of the accusation will be published.
Trump himself denies a connection with Daniels, arguing that this is a political persecution of the Democrats in order to influence the elections. He announced that he would be running in the 2024 presidential election back in November 2022.
On March 18, 2023, Trump reiterated that he was going to be detained as part of the trial. He claimed it would happen on March 21, which he learned through "illegal leaks" from the Manhattan District Attorney's office. At the same time, Trump called on his supporters to protest.
In 2018, the Manhattan prosecutor launched an investigation against the ex-president over the allegations of porn star Stormy Daniels. She claimed that she had sexual relations with Trump and received $130,000 for non-disclosure of this information. Trump was called by the Manhattan District Attorney's office to testify in a "silence payment" case, and Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison. In court, Cohen said that he paid money to several women who were going to talk about an intimate relationship with Trump. CNN claimed that Trump could be charged in this case, after which he would probably be released on bail.
Elon Musk wrote that if Trump is detained, the politician will win the US presidential election in 2024.