First US President to Face Criminal Charges: Trump Indicted for Hush Money.

President of the United States

The Court has decided to charge Donald Trump for paying hush money to a pornographic actress.

On Thursday, a grand jury in New York indicted Donald Trump for payments made to a pornographic actress to keep quiet during his campaign in 2016. This makes him the inaugural former US president to confront criminal charges.

The 76-year-old Republican has been charged with historic allegations. He denies all accusations related to the payments made before the election that resulted in his presidency. These charges will surely disturb the current presidential campaign, which Trump is competing in to reclaim his position in the White House.

This event will be a permanent reminder of the impact made by the ex-leader, who withstood two impeachments and managed to avoid legal ramifications for various matters such as the Capitol siege and the misplacement of classified documents – until he became embroiled in a sex scandal with Stormy Daniels, a 44-year-old performer in the adult film industry, resulting in legal proceedings.

The office of Alvin Bragg, the District Attorney of Manhattan, verified that they got in touch with the lawyers of Trump on Thursday night so that they can arrange for his surrender and arraignment in New York. During this time, Trump will face charges of felony, and the details will be disclosed.

Trump strongly criticized the indictment as an act of "political oppression and meddling in elections". He expressed his anger towards prosecutors and the Democratic Party, stating that their actions will have negative consequences for President Joe Biden in the future.

If Trump were to be indicted, his lawyers have claimed that he would surrender himself for arraignment. This process usually involves being fingerprinted and photographed, and there is also a possibility of being handcuffed.

In the group of Republicans supporting Trump, his allies and sons criticized what they perceive as an unfair attack designed to ruin his 2024 run. Meanwhile, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is expected to challenge Trump for the party nomination, condemned the charges as against American values.

The head Republican in the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, expressed that the accusation has caused irreversible harm to the nation.

However, Adam Schiff, who is the main accuser for the Democratic Party and led Trump's first impeachment in 2019, described it as "an alarming and exceptional event."

Schiff stated that the accusation and detention of a past president is unprecedented in the history of the United States. However, Trump's wrongful behaviors, which he has been accused of, are also exceptional.

A lawyer representing Daniels expressed satisfaction with the announcement, considering it as evidence that everyone must adhere to the law.

Clark Brewster sent out a tweet stating that the charges against Donald Trump should not be celebrated. Instead, he hopes that justice and the truth will prevail.

Potential demonstrations

Trump announced on March 18th that he believed he would be apprehended within a few days because of the payment made to Daniels. Daniels was given $130,000 right before Trump was elected to the presidency to prevent her from speaking out about an alleged romantic encounter they had ten years prior.

When Trump anticipated his indictment, he urged for protests while cautioning of the disastrous consequences that may ensue, such as fatal casualties and widespread devastation that could be detrimental to our nation.

When he made his declaration, people in New York became concerned that there might be protests. However, the possibility of a speedy decision to press charges seemed to diminish as the group of jurors responsible for making that decision moved forward with listening to testimony. That is, until Thursday.

On Thursday, a group of reporters and some individuals against Trump gathered in front of the district attorney's office, but everything remained peaceful.

Michael Cohen, who used to work as a lawyer for Trump, appeared in front of a grand jury and spoke to Congress in 2019. During these appearances, he stated that he was the one who made the payment to Daniels on behalf of Trump, and that he later received repayment for it.

The prosecutors claimed that the checks weren't recorded properly. The jury was tasked with determining if there was an attempt to hide the scandal in order to help Trump's campaign.

The investigation in New York has become the primary one to come to a conclusion regarding accusations in relation to the ex-president, out of three major investigations.

Trump is currently being investigated for possible felonies in Georgia regarding the 2020 election, and is also under investigation in Washington for the attack on the Capitol carried out by his supporters on January 6, 2021. These loyalists were hoping to maintain Trump's hold on the presidency following his defeat by Joe Biden.

The leading candidate from the Republican party

According to reports, Trump is considered the leading candidate for the Republican nomination in the upcoming 2024 election. He has dismissed all investigations against him as unjustified attacks driven by political motives.

It is hard to tell how an indictment will affect his chances of getting elected. People who disagree with him are worried about whether the hush money case is justified.

Some people who disagree with Trump are concerned that if he was found innocent, it might encourage others to dismiss any similar accusations as a baseless attack. This could include more significant issues, like Trump's attempts to change the results of the Georgia election.

According to experts, the charges filed against Manhattan are expected to increase the number of Trump supporters who will participate in the primaries. This is predicted to enhance his likelihood of winning the election within his party.

On Saturday, Trump held his inaugural presidential campaign rally in Texas and spoke before a crowd of a few thousand enthusiastic fans, instead of the anticipated 15,000 in attendance, in the city of Waco, Texas.

He addressed the enthusiastic audience stating that the radical left extremists do not care about the innocence of individuals.

Apart from the title, the following article has not been modified by NDTV personnel and is being shared from a source that redistributes content.

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