FORMER US President Donald Trump has been indicted by a grand jury in Manhattan. It is the first time that a current or a former president will face criminal charges, jolting his bid to retake the White House next year.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office has been investigating Trump 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.
However, the jury has not announced the charges publicly yet. It has been filed under seal and will be announced in the coming days.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office will reach out to Trump’s attorneys to discuss his surrender to face an arraignment.
Here are 3 updates on Donald Trump’s indictment:
1. Donald Trump was caught off guard by the grand jury’s decision to indict him, according to media reports.
2. Donald trump’s attorney said that he was a victim of a “corrupt, and distorted version of the American justice system and history. He will be vindicated”.
3. After being indicted by the Manhattan jury, Donald Trump said, “Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history”. The former US President added, “This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history. From the time I came down the golden escalator at Trump Tower, and even before I was sworn in as your President of the United States, the Radical Left Democrats — the enemy of the hard-working men and women of this Country — have been engaged in a Witch-Hunt to destroy the Make America Great Again movement. You remember it just like I do: Russia, Russia, Russia; the Mueller Hoax; Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine; Impeachment Hoax 1; Impeachment Hoax 2; the illegal and unconstitutional Mar-a-Lago raid; and now this.
“The Democrats have lied, cheated, and stolen in their obsession with trying to ‘Get Trump,’ but now they’ve done the unthinkable — indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference.
“Never before in our Nation’s history has this been done? The Democrats have cheated countless times over the decades, including spying on my campaign, but weaponizing our justice system to punish a political opponent, who just so happens to be a President of the United States and by far the leading Republican candidate for President, has never happened before. Ever”.
He also posted on his social media platform ‘Truth Social’ in all caps that indictment “is an attack on our country the likes of which has never been seen before. It is likewise a continuing attack on our once free and fair elections”. LiveMint
