Donald Trump, a former US president, will face charges related to payments made to a porn performer right before the 2016 election.
His accusation’s specifics have not yet been made public.
After looking into a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels to purchase her silence about an alleged affair, a grand jury decided to prosecute him.
Trump, 76, says he did nothing wrong. He is the first sitting or past president of the US to be accused of a crime.
The investigation’s lead prosecutor, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, confirmed that his office had gotten in touch with Mr. Trump’s lawyer to “coordinate his surrender” on unnamed charges. The former president, who resides in Florida, is anticipated to fly to New York on Monday and be arraigned in court on Tuesday, according to two sources familiar with the situation who spoke to CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.
The hearing is scheduled to last roughly 10-15 minutes, and the counts in the indictment will be read to him during that time.
Security for the court appearance will be handled by the United States Secret Service, which is responsible for guarding current and former US presidents. In 2016, adult film star Stormy Daniels contacted media outlets with an offer to sell her account of what she claimed to be an adulterous affair she had with Donald Trump in 2006, the year after he married his current wife, Melania.
When Mr. Trump’s team learned of this, his attorney Michael Cohen paid Ms. Daniels $130,000 to be silent. There is no crime here.
The payment record for Mr. Trump’s reimbursement of his attorney, however, indicates that it was for legal expenses. According to the prosecution, Mr. Trump has been accused of manipulating company records, which is a misdemeanor, or criminal offense, in New York.
Due to his desire for voters to remain unaware of his involvement with Ms. Daniels, he made an effort to conceal his payments to her, which could lead to accusations that this violates election law.
Falsifying records to hide a crime would be a felony, which is a more serious charge. Even prosecution supporters concede that there are many grey areas in this case.
Mr. Trump now faces the possibility of having his fingerprints taken and his mugshot taken, like all defendants in criminal cases. Mr. Trump has repeatedly criticized the investigation in his hometown of New York as a political “witch hunt” led by his opponents. There is little precedent for such a prosecution, and previous attempts to charge politicians with blurring the line between campaign finance and personal spending have failed.
