A grand jury in Manhattan voted to indict Donald Trump in a 2016 case of buying the silence of a porn actress, according to several American media. It is the first time in American history that a current or former president will face criminal charges.
The former tenant of the White House is expected to be formally charged in the coming days by the New York State Court and its Manhattan attorney, Alvin Bragg, for the payment of $ 130,000 to the actress and film director pornographic Stormy Danielsreports in particular the New York Times and CNN. This sum would have been paid to the actress to keep quiet about a supposed extramarital relationship 10 years earlier.
Beyond the scandal represented by this alleged relationship, for years, justice has sought to determine whether the 76-year-old former Republican president was guilty of false declarations, a minor offense, or breach of the laws on the election financing, a criminal offence. This is one of the legal thorns in the side of the former president, who dreams of ” regain the White House in November 2024.
In the coming days, Alvin Bragg should ask the ex-president to go to the judicial authorities for the reading of his indictment with the taking of a photo and the recording of his fingerprints like any indicted. An incredible scene that risks stunning Americans, explains our correspondent in the United States, David Thomson.
Donald Trump’s claims of a supposed “arrest” in mid-March
The press was buzzing with rumors in early March of a possible indictment of the Republican billionaire. He had pulled off a political stunt on March 18 by claiming without any evidence on his Truth Social network that he would be “ stopped and would appear in New York court three days later to be charged. But nothing had happened. The country waited ten days for this possible indictment.
” No one is above the law “said Clark Brewster, the lawyer for Stormy Daniels, after the announcement of the indictment of former President Donald Trump in connection with funds paid to his client. “ Donald Trump’s indictment is no cause for celebrationassured Clark Brewster on Twitter. Now let truth and justice prevail “.
For his part, Donald Trump strongly criticized his indictment, denouncing a “ political persecution and interference in the election presidential election of 2024, for which he is a candidate. “ I’m sure this witch hunt will backfire on Joe Biden “, he assured in a very long press release. Donald Trump also recalls his two impeachment trials, “ these hoaxes of the first and second impeachments “. “ This had never been done in the history of our country “, he writes. On this point, no one will contradict him, a former president had never been criminally charged, but this time, the myth of his invisibility takes a hit.
The upcoming indictment of Donald Trump, also a first for an American presidential candidate, plunges his campaign into uncertainty. The main risk for the candidate Trump is to alienate the moderate Republican electorate and the independents.
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(And with AFP)