A grand jury in New York City voted on Thursday, March 30, to indict Donald Trump, the first time a former U.S. president has faced criminal charges.
The former US president was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on criminal charges following an investigation into hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels, according to prosecutors and defense attorneys.
This is the first time in American history that a current or former president will face criminal charges.
The indictment has been filed under seal and will be announced in the coming days. The charges are not publicly known at this time.
A payment of $130,000 was allegedly made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the closing days of the 2016 presidential campaign. Daniels claimed she slept with the married Trump in 2006, a claim he has denied. Trump had classified his reimbursement of the payout as a legal expense to his then-lawyer.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’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 that dates to the 2016 presidential election. Grand jury proceedings are secret, but a source familiar with the case told CNN that a witness gave about 30 minutes of testimony before it voted to indict Trump.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office said in a statement that it has contacted former President Donald Trump’s attorney “to coordinate his surrender” for arraignment on a state Supreme Court indictment, noting that it remains under seal.
“Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected,” the office said.
The twice-impeached Trump is the first commander-in-chief in American history to be criminally indicted.
After the grand jury returned the indictment which remained sealed as of late Thursday night a spokesperson for the DA’s office said that they had contacted Trump’s legal team to coordinate his surrender before the arraignment.