NY Grand Jury Indicts Trump Over Hush Money Payments To Porn Star Stormy Daniels
The indictment will be under seal until his arraignment, but it’s finally happening. Disgraced former U.S. president Donald Trump will be arrested—presumably next week during a self-surrender, when Trump is expected to turn himself in in NYC—in connection to hush money payments he made to porn star Stormy Daniels. Trump had a sexual affair with Daniels in 2006 (while Trump’s current wife Melania Trump was pregnant with their child) and $130,000 was paid to Daniels in 2016 in exchange for her silence about the affair. The payments are likely going to be charged as campaign finance violations, but it’s not known if they’ll be filed as misdemeanors or felonies until the indictment is unsealed. This story will obviously be updated as details come in. Via CNN:
A grand jury in Manhattan has voted to indict Donald Trump – the first time in American history that a current or former president has faced criminal charges, according to three sources familiar with the matter. The Manhattan district attorney’s office has been investigating the former president 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.
ADDED:
Sources say the Trump indictment includes more than 30 counts related to “business fraud” and how he reported the payments to Stormy Daniels. Another source has said that Trump will be turning himself in on Tuesday of next week, at which point he’ll be fingerprinted and have his mug shot taken during the arrest. Mug shots in the state of New York are not made public unless the suspect is a fugitive and is evading authorities, so all of us need to start praying right now that someone in the NYPD gives Trump’s mug shot to the media. Given the historic circumstances, I have to believe there’s someone there who will be heroic enough to leak the photo.
