Trump indicted live updates: Trump calls first-ever charges of an ex-president 'political persecution'
Donald Trump is the first former U.S. president to be indicted by a New York grand jury.
A New York Grand Jury voted to indict the former president Donald Trump for a payment of hush money to adult film actress Stormy Danis ahead of the 2016 elections.
Trump is the only former U.S. President to have been charged with a criminal offense. He has denied all wrongdoing.
The historical indictment has broad implications for both the campaign trail of 2024 and Capitol Hill. Trump is the leading candidate for the Republican nomination.
Trump and his supporters hurled vitriol against the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office in the days preceding the indictment. Bragg received a package containing a threat of death and white powder last week. The authorities determined that the envelope was not dangerous.
Donald Trump vows to fight Democrats after calling grand jury indictment "political persecution and election interference"
Former President Donald Trump called an indictment of a New York Grand Jury "political persecution" and promised to fight Democratic Party officials if he runs for the White House again.
Trump's response came after the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg conducted an investigation and voted indicting the former president, who is also the current candidate for the 2024 presidential election.
I believe that this Witch-Hunt is going to backfire on Joe Biden. Trump stated in a press release that the American people are aware of what the Radical Left Democrats have done. Everyone can see it. Our Movement and Party, united and strong, will first defeat Alvin Bragg and then defeat Joe Biden.
-- Brian Schwartz
Michael Cohen, former Trump attorney and key Manhattan DA Witness, said 'nobody is above the laws' after Trump's indictment
Michael Cohen, Donald Trump's former lawyer, was a key testimony in the investigation of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. He said, "No one is above law," after his longtime employer was indicted.
"I take comfort in the fact that the old saying is true: no one, not even the former president, is above the laws. Cohen stated in a press release that the indictment today is just the beginning of the chapter. Now that the charges are filed, the best thing for the case is to let the indictment stand on its own. "At this point, I would like to emphasize that accountability is important and that I am standing by my testimony and evidence provided to DANY."
In an interview with MSNBC, Cohen said that he had met the district attorney more than two dozen times as Bragg investigated a 2016 payment of hush funds to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Cohen had been sentenced to prison for three years after pleading to tax fraud, lying with banks and violating campaign financing laws.
Cohen told MSNBC he thinks Trump is "petrified", after the indictment.
Cohen, speaking to NBC, said that the mugshot would upset the fragile ego of the man.
-- Brian Schwartz