Former US President Donald Trump faces a criminal indictment for commercial fraud from a Manhattan grand jury.
According to CNN sources, Trump is expected to appear in court next Tuesday, after the indictment was submitted sealed and will be announced in the coming days.
The sources said that the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, Alvin Bragg, filed charges against the former president in connection with his alleged role in a scheme to pay money to silence porn actress Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
The Attorney General's office said in a statement yesterday (Thursday): We contacted Trump's attorney this evening to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan office.. Guidance will be provided when determining the date of the summons.
Although the grand jury's procedures are secret, according to CNN's sources, one of the witnesses testified for 30 minutes before the vote on Trump's indictment, marking the first time in American history that a current or former president faces criminal charges.
Former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti wrote on Twitter: “Brague initially decided not to pursue charges against Trump and now appears to have reversed course. I think there is more to this story and we will learn about that in the coming months.”
Former federal prosecutor Andrew Weisma, who served on Special Counsel Bob Mueller's team, described the investigation as a "sleeper case to watch," as Trump also faces potential legal trouble in Fulton County related to his post-election efforts to overturn his loss and a Justice Department investigation into classified documents he refused to turn over. In response to a grand jury subpoena.
In response to the indictment, Trump issued a statement confirming that it represented "political persecution and election interference at the highest level in history."
He said, “What Joe Biden is doing will backfire. The American people know exactly what the Democratic Radical Left is doing here. Everyone can see it. So our movement and our party – united and strong – are going to beat Alvin Bragg first, then we're going to beat Joe Biden, and we're going to kick every single one of these crooked Democrats out of office so we can make America great again."
According to the New York Times, Trump legally faces a maximum of 4 years in prison, but the maximum penalty is rare in the United States, so it is expected to be less than that if convicted.
Okaz (Jeddah) @okaz_online