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Prosecution of Donald Trump in New York

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Prosecution of Donald Trump in New York
Part of the legal affairs of Donald Trump
A photograph of a crowd of people standing outside of Trump Tower. NYPD officers are dispersed in the crowd.
Protesters at Trump Tower on March 21, 2023, when Trump had claimed he would be indicted
DateMarch 30, 2023; 15 months ago (2023-03-30)
LocationNew York City, U.S.
TypeIndictment by grand jury
Participants
ChargesPending
This article is part of
a series about
Donald Trump
Business and personal
45th President of the United States
Tenure
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Donald Trump's signature

Seal of the President of the United States

On March 30, 2023, Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States, was indicted by a New York City grand jury for his role in a scandal stemming from hush money payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 United States presidential election.[1][2] He is the first former U.S. president to be indicted.[3][4][5] The indictment concerns falsified business records regarding the payments.[6] Exact charges have not been disclosed, nor has the indictment been made public.[7] Trump has said he would remain a candidate in the upcoming 2024 presidential election.[7] Trump might not be publicly arrested, as his lawyers may be in communication with prosecutors to arrange a surrender;[8] one of them, Joe Tacopina, has stated that Trump will turn himself in[9] on the afternoon of April 4.[9][10] Alina Habba, a lawyer representing Trump in a different case, expects him to be fingerprinted and photographed at the New York courthouse, and that the Secret Service will be involved with travel discussions.[11]

The indictment was filed with the New York Supreme Court at the end of the business day on March 30 and remains sealed.[12] Trump, who resides in Florida, may have to travel to New York City for the formal arrest and the first court hearing.[13] In the lead-up to the indictment, he verbally attacked the prosecutors investigating him, including district attorney Alvin Bragg.[14] The indictment is expected to have a significant impact on the 2024 presidential election and Trump's presidential campaign,[15] though criminal charges do not legally preclude him from running for office.[6][16] Trump and his aides were surprised at the news of indictment, believing that one would begin weeks later, or not at all.[17] The indictment has been criticized for using a technicality to lay charges.[18]

Background

Stormy Daniels–Donald Trump scandal

Main article: Stormy Daniels–Donald Trump scandal
A blond white woman with a pink dress and long earrings smiling while looking at the camera.
Donald Trump was indicted for his role in instructing Michael Cohen to pay US$130,000 to Stormy Daniels.

Stormy Daniels is an American pornographic film actress. In July 2006, Daniels met Trump at a celebrity golf tournament in Nevada; at the time, Trump was the host of The Apprentice and married Melania Knauss the year prior. According to Daniels, Trump invited her to his penthouse at Harrah's Lake Tahoe[19] and had an affair with her, telling her that he could make her a guest on The Apprentice. In 2011, Daniels considered selling the story of her affair to the celebrity magazine Life & Style for US$15,000 as Trump began exploring a potential presidential bid. Trump's lawyer, Michael Cohen, threatened to sue the publication when it asked the Trump Organization for comment. Daniels' agent, Gina Rodriguez, would leak the story to gossip blog "The Dirty" in October. The post was taken down by Trump's lawyers, and Daniels refuted the story's veracity.[20]

As Trump's 2016 presidential campaign began, Rodriguez approached multiple publications—including the National Enquirer—and attempted to sell the story. Although no publication agreed to buy the story, the National Enquirer would later pick up the story following the publication of a lewd tape between Trump and television host Billy Bush in October 2016. The National Enquirer sought to suppress the story, in an effort to help the Trump campaign. Rather than paying Daniels, National Enquirer editor-in-chief Dylan Howard negotiated a US$130,000 non-disclosure agreement with Cohen. As Election Day neared, Cohen attempted to find US$130,000 to pay Daniels and repeatedly delayed her payment. Keith Davidson, Daniels' lawyer, cancelled the deal in October 2016. Realizing that his work to cover up the story may be revealed, Cohen drew US$130,000 from his home equity line of credit and sent the money through a shell company incorporated in Delaware.[20][19]

In January 2018, The Wall Street Journal reported on Cohen's payment.[21] Cohen pleaded guilty to eight criminal counts relating to the payment—as well as a payment made to Playboy model Karen McDougal—in August. In his admission of guilt, Cohen implicated Trump, stating that he acted "at the direction of a candidate for federal office".[22] In December 2018, Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison.[23]

New York City grand jury investigation

Main article: New York criminal investigation of The Trump Organization

Following Cohen's admission of guilt, Cyrus Vance Jr.—the Manhattan District Attorney—opened an investigation against the Trump Organization and two of its executives.[24] The office paused its inquiry when federal prosecutors began a separate investigation into the payments. In July 2019, federal prosecutors stated that they concluded their inquiry into Trump and signaled that he would not be charged.[25] The Manhattan district attorney's office then issued a subpoena for the Trump Organization in August, seeking documents relating to the payments.[26] Additionally, the office subpoenaed accounting firm Mazars USA, demanding eight years of Trump's corporate tax returns.[27] Trump's lawyers sued Vance to block the subpoena, citing Trump's immunity from criminal inquiries as the president of the United States;[28] in Trump v. Vance, the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in favor of Vance, allowing the subpoena to continue.[29]

In December 2020, Manhattan prosecutors began intensifying their investigation, investigating employees of Deutsche Bank and insurance brokerage Aon.[30] The Supreme Court ruled once more in February 2021 that the Manhattan district attorney's office could obtain Trump's tax records,[31] and obtained these records following the Supreme Court's ruling.[32] The Manhattan district attorney's office began focusing its attention on Allen Weisselberg, the chief financial officer (CFO) of the Trump Organization,[33] and charged the Trump Organization with running a tax scheme in July.[34]

Following the 2021 New York County District Attorney election, Alvin Bragg succeeded Vance as the Manhattan District Attorney.[35] In February 2022, Mark Pomerantz and Carey Dunne, the two prosecutors retained by Bragg to lead the investigation, resigned.[36] Bragg continued the investigation throughout 2022,[37] and moved to continue the hush money inquiry into Trump.[38]

In January 2023, the Manhattan district attorney's office impaneled a 23-person[39] grand jury, and began presenting evidence of Trump's role in paying Stormy Daniels.[40] The grand jury had been hearing for months leading up to the indictment, typically meeting on Mondays and Wednesdays.[39] In March 2023, prosecutors signaled an indictment was likely,[41] and on March 18, 2023, Trump claimed that he was to be arrested the following week, calling for protests in anticipation of a possible indictment.[42][43] New York City Police began to increase security in preparation for the expected indictment, and a second time for the second expected indictment.[39] Metal barriers were set up around Trump Tower and the district Criminal Court Building.[44] On March 30, prior to the grand jury voting to indict, an unidentified witness testified for approximately 30 minutes to them.[45]

Impact

2024 presidential campaign

See also: Donald Trump 2024 presidential campaign

Article Two of the United States Constitution does not prohibit a convicted individual from running for office:

Section 1. No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.

Other investigations

Trump is also the subject of two additional probes—one over his efforts to overturn Georgia's 2020 presidential election results, and the other in Washington, D.C., over his handling of classified and national defense-related government documents.[6] The New York indictment is not expected to impact the Georgia probe, according to a source familiar with the thinking of staff in the Fulton County district attorney's office; potential charges leading to indictments stemming from this investigation could come as soon as the first half of 2023.[46]

Reactions

Republican politicians

Trump released a statement calling the indictment "Political Persecution" and said that the indictment would "backfire massively on Joe Biden".[47] Trump's campaign had sent out campaign emails to fundraise, mentioning donations would have a "1,500% impact".[48] Speaking to CNN's Wolf Blitzer, former vice president Mike Pence called the indictment an "outrage".[49]

Congressional Republicans generally condemned the indictment as unprecedented and a weaponization of justice, without addressing particular facts of the pending formal charges.[50] Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy tweeted: "Alvin Bragg has irreparably damaged our country in an attempt to interfere in our Presidential election. As he routinely frees violent criminals to terrorize the public, he weaponized our sacred system of justice against President Donald Trump. The American people will not tolerate this injustice, and the House of Representatives will hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account".[50][51] Representative Jim Jordan, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, tweeted the word 'Outrageous'.[52][50]

Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, the state in which Trump resides, has said that the state of Florida will not cooperate with any extradition of Trump to New York.[53] This position is in defiance of Puerto Rico v. Branstad, which asserts that governors cannot reject the extradition requests of other states, based on Article IV of the U.S. Constitution.[54] Former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson has criticized the move, as well as entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who is also running for the presidential nomination.[48]

Democratic politicians

Representative Adam Schiff tweeted: "The indictment of a former president is unprecedented. But so too is the unlawful conduct in which Trump has been engaged".[52] Schiff served as the lead impeachment manager during Trump's first impeachment trial.[55]

Public

Prior to the indictment, polling showed the majority of Americans believed Trump committed crimes and warranted investigation.[56][57]

Trump supporters

On March 18, 2023, Trump called for protests in anticipation of an indictment.[42] Despite calls for action, Time magazine reported that prominent supporters and far-right groups who responded to his call in the January 6 United States Capitol attack were reluctant.[58] A demonstration was held by the New York Young Republican Club the following Monday, though it was vastly outnumbered by the presence of journalists.[59]

See also

References

  1. ^ Bromwich, Jonah E. (March 30, 2023). "Here are the key events that led to the grand jury vote". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  2. ^ Dickinson, Tim; Bort, Ryan (March 30, 2023). "Trump Indicted". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  3. ^ Katersky, Aaron (March 30, 2023). "Trump live updates: Trump indicted by Manhattan grand jury, sources say". ABC News. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  4. ^ Sisak, Michael R.; Peltz, Jennifer; Tucker, Eric (March 30, 2023). "Lawyer: Trump indicted; 1st ex-president charged with crime". AP News. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  5. ^ Pengelly, Martin (March 30, 2023). "Donald Trump indicted over 2016 hush money payment – report". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c Jacobs, Shayna; Alemany, Jacqueline; Dawley, Josh; Barrett, Devlin (March 30, 2023). "Trump indicted by N.Y. grand jury, first ex-president charged with crime". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  7. ^ a b Palazzolo, Joe; Ramey, Corinne (March 30, 2023). "Grand Jury Votes to Indict Donald Trump". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  8. ^ Stein, Perry (March 30, 2023). "Trump is indicted in N.Y. Here's what it means and what happens next". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  9. ^ a b Mangan, Dan; Schwartz, Brian; Goswami, Rohan; Novet, Jordan (March 30, 2023). "Trump indicted live updates: Trump to surrender early next week, attorney tells NBC". CNBC. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  10. ^ Scannell, Kara; Collins, Kaitlan; del Valle, Lauren; Perez, Evan (March 30, 2023). "Trump expected to appear in court Tuesday for arraignment". CNN. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
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  27. ^ Rashbaum, William; Protess, Ben (September 16, 2019). "8 Years of Trump Tax Returns Are Subpoenaed by Manhattan D.A." The New York Times. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  28. ^ Gold, Michael (September 19, 2019). "Trump Lawyers Argue He Cannot Be Criminally Investigated". The New York Times. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
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  31. ^ Liptak, Adam; Rashbaum, William; Protess, Ben; Weiser, Benjamin (February 22, 2021). "Supreme Court Denies Trump's Final Bid to Block Release of Tax Returns". The New York Times. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
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  34. ^ Protess, Ben; Rashbaum, William; Bromwich, Jonah (July 1, 2021). "Trump Organization Is Charged With Running 15-Year Employee Tax Scheme". The New York Times. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  35. ^ Vakil, Caroline (January 1, 2022). "First Black Manhattan DA sworn in, to take over Trump case". The Hill. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  36. ^ Rashbaum, William; Protess, Ben; Bromwich, Jonah; Christobek, Kate; Schweber, Nate (February 23, 2022). "2 Prosecutors Leading N.Y. Trump Inquiry Resign, Clouding Case's Future". The New York Times. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  37. ^ Bromwich, Jonah; Rashbaum, William; Protess, Ben (April 7, 2022). "Under Fire, Manhattan D.A. Defends Handling of Trump Investigation". The New York Times. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
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  39. ^ a b c Dienst, Jonathan; Russo, Melissa; Santia, Marc; Copenhagen, Courtney; Millman, Jennifer; Shea, Tom; Miller, Myles (March 30, 2023). "NYC Ramps Up Security Again Ahead of Possible Grand Jury Action Against Trump, Police Sources Say". NBC New York. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  40. ^ Rashbaum, William; Protess, Ben; Bromwich; Meko, Hurubie (January 30, 2023). "Manhattan Prosecutors Begin Presenting Trump Case to Grand Jury". The New York Times. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
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  49. ^ Haberman, Maggie (March 30, 2023). "Mike Pence, on a previously booked TV interview, calls the indictment 'an outrage.'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  50. ^ a b c Wong, Scott (March 30, 2023). "Trump allies erupt in fury over former president's indictment". NBC News. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  51. ^ McCarthy, Kevin [@SpeakerMcCarthy] (March 30, 2023). "Alvin Bragg has irreparably damaged our country in an attempt to interfere in our Presidential election" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  52. ^ a b Schnell, Mychael; Brooks, Emily (March 30, 2023). "Democrats hail, Republicans blast Trump indictment". The Hill. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  53. ^ Brett Samuels, Max Greenwood (March 30, 2023). "DeSantis: Florida won't cooperate with Trump extradition". The Hill. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  54. ^ Garcia, Eric; Feinberg, Andrew (March 30, 2023). "Can Florida governor Ron DeSantis stop Trump's arrest?". The Independent. Archived from the original on March 29, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  55. ^ Elkind, Elizabeth (March 30, 2023). "Dems react to Trump indictment: Schiff calls it 'sobering,' Waters knew 'Stormy Daniels would get him'". Fox News. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  56. ^ Jones, Ja'han (March 28, 2023). "Poll shows wide support in U.S. for the Trump criminal investigations". MSNBC. Archived from the original on March 29, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  57. ^ https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/3913133-more-americans-think-trump-should-face-charges-in-hush-money-scandal-poll/
  58. ^ "'He Betrayed Us': Why Trump's Call To Protest Is Flopping". Time. March 21, 2023. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  59. ^ "Pro-Trump rally in New York 'outnumbered five to one by journalists'". The Independent. March 21, 2023. Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
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