Trump Will Likely Face Criminal Charges Over Stormy Daniels Payment
BREAKING NEWS: Donald Trump is likely to face criminal charges for paying hush money to Stormy Daniels after he was invited by the Manhattan district attorney to testify before the grand jury
- Former President Donald Trump is likely to face charges for his role in hush money payments made on his behalf ahead of the 2016 election.
- Porn star Stormy Daniels and Playmate Karen McDougal were paid not to speak publicly of having ‘affairs’ with Trump
- The New York Times reported that Trump’s lawyers were told an indictment could be filed and he was given the option of appearing before a grand jury.
Former President Donald Trump is likely to face charges for his role in hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
The New York Times reported Thursday Trump’s lawyers were told by the Manhattan district attorney’s office that the former president could face criminal charges for the $130,000 payment, citing four sources close to the investigation.
Prosecutors gave Trump the option of appearing before a state grand jury that has been meeting since January and has been hearing evidence in the case, usually a sign that a person will be charged.
Several of Trump’s top advisers have been seen at the Manhattan district attorney’s office in recent days, including former counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway and former White House communications director Hope Hicks.
An impeachment against Trump will make American history, as no former US president has faced criminal charges after leaving office.
Former President Donald Trump (left) is likely to face charges for his role in hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels (right) and playmate Karen McDougal ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office (pictured) has been investigating whether any state laws were violated by hush money payments made to a porn star and Playboy playmate on Trump’s behalf before the 2016 presidential election.
President Richard Nixon, who left office for his role in the Watergate burglary, was pardoned by his Republican successor, President Gerald Ford, before criminal charges could be filed.
An impeachment by Trump could also complicate the 2024 presidential election, since he announced his candidacy in November and continues to lead in most Republican polls.
Trump has already escaped criminal charges for his role in making hush money payments by federal investigators.
Former Trump lawyer turned critic Michael Cohen was the only person caught in the federal investigation.
He facilitated payments between Trump and Daniels and also Playboy Playmate McDougal, who all claimed to have had sex with the married businessman and reality TV star.
After the federal investigation was concluded, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg resumed the investigation to see if any New York State laws had been violated.
Bragg’s prosecutors have not finished their work in front of the grand jury and he may decide not to press charges, The Times reported.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office has already presented six witnesses before the grand jury, the newspaper said.
Cohen has met with prosecutors 18 times through various iterations of the investigation, which he told the Associated Press after another meeting with them last week.
He said the investigation was “really progressing” and that he expected to be called before the grand jury soon.
“The level of specificity with which they are attacking the various issues is extraordinary,” said the former Trump lawyer.
In her book, she also links Conway, who made headlines this week over her divorce from her Trump-critical husband George, to the hush money payment, writing that she was the person who informed Trump that Daniels had been paid.
Conway, who served as Trump’s campaign manager in 2016, said he would “deliver the good news” to Trump once Cohen gave the money to Daniels, Cohen wrote in his 2020 memoir, Disloyal: A Memoir: The True Story of the Former. Personal attorney for President Donald J. Trump.
Conway ignored reporters Wednesday when he walked into Bragg’s office in lower Manhattan.
Trump’s actions are also under scrutiny in Georgia as Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis investigates whether crimes were committed when Trump and his allies tried to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Additionally, Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed special counsel to oversee Justice Department investigations into whether Trump mishandled classified documents when he left office and his effort to overturn President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory.