Will Donald Trump be bound in court? Will he face a humiliating turn of events? We will know the answers shortly after Mr. Trump became the first former US president to be impeached, meaning he faces criminal charges.
A New York grand jury has decided to charge Trump with alleged “silence” payments to cover up an intimate encounter with former porn star Stormy Daniels.
This announcement is important for America and has far-reaching implications, not least for the 2024 presidential election in which Trump is running.
It will test Mr. Trump’s brand like never before and could bolster diehard Trump supporters, but risk spooking voters in battlefield states.
Trump is expected to face more than 30 forged business documents linked to a $130,000 (£106,000) hush money payment ahead of the 2016 election.
It took years to investigate his indictment, and the Manhattan Attorney’s Office is the office that will handle the case. Trump said in a statement that he is “completely innocent” and called the allegations “political persecution and election interference at the highest level in history.”
Trump is expected to turn himself in to authorities early next week, possibly as early as Tuesday, and plead not guilty. The most pressing concerns are the logistical and security issues associated with bringing the former president to justice for his first appearance or trying him on US terms.
Manhattan prosecutors spokesman Alvin Bragg confirmed the allegations and said prosecutors had contacted Trump’s defense team to agree on a surrender.
Trump is expected to fly to New York from his Florida home and appear before prosecutors sitting in criminal court.
He will be taken by elevator to a room where his photographs and fingerprints will be taken, and he will be officially logged into the system.
Usually, the accused are led through the corridors of the court in handcuffs and interrogated by photographers and journalists.
While Mr. Trump will likely have to navigate such a crowd, he will reportedly avoid handcuffs and have a dozen Secret Service agents at his side.
He will almost certainly be released on bail as well, although it remains to be seen whether he will have to stay in New York or be allowed to travel.
The reaction of the Republican establishment to this case was a delicate combination of criticism of the prosecutor’s office and calls for peace.
As for creating another one on the streets of Manhattan on January 6, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy said “no one should hurt each other” and stated that Mr. Trump feels the same way.
Mike Pence, Trump’s vice president who will almost certainly run against him in 2024, called the accuser “politically charged,” one of the few nice things he’s said about his ex-boyfriend in recent weeks.
Even Ali Alexander, one of the organizers of the Stop Theft rallies that promoted Trump’s baseless theories about voter fraud in 2020, warned Trump supporters that they could face “jail or worse” if they spoke in New York. The protests have been muted so far, but New York is now stepping up security again, with Fox New host Tucker Carlson and other network pundits calling for action and “riots.”
Trump is already using the prosecutor’s office to raise money for his campaign, with the backing of Elon Musk, who has said he is guaranteed a second term if the case goes ahead.
For a candidate whose campaign is based on complaints and victimization, what could be more evidence that the Deep State is working against him than this?
But that’s not good for voters, and everyone agrees that it will hurt Mr. Trump’s chances against Joe Biden.
The possibility that Mr. Trump faces jail — up to four years if found guilty on the pending charges — will frighten suburban swing voters who decide the election.
The New York case is not the only legal danger Mr. Trump faces, who could be charged by Georgia prosecutors for alleged election interference and the special counsel for allegedly illegally hiding classified documents after he left office.
It’s hard not to feel like this is just someone who counts “Teflon Don” among his nicknames.
The question is whether he can come up with another escape, as he has done so many times before.
Source: I News
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.