US court indicts Trump for financial fraud

Former President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, has been indicted in a case brought by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office into his alleged cover-up of a hush money payment to a porn star ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

Trump was indicted on charges related to a $130,000 payment made by his former attorney, Michael Cohen, to adult film star, Stormy Daniels, in 2016, to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter.

The indictment marks the first time in history that a former US President had been criminally prosecuted.

Trump is a declared candidate for president in 2024, and his Republican allies had sought to portray the work of Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, as politically motivated, with the former President calling on his supporters in a social media post on Saturday, to protest and “take our nation back.”

Trump, who declined an invitation to testify before the grand jury, has denied the affair with Daniels and alleged that she demanded cash because of his vulnerability as a presidential candidate.

Earlier this month, the grand jury heard from Cohen, who in 2018, pleaded guilty to several charges including federal campaign finance crimes involving the hush money payout.

Federal prosecutors concluded the payment, which came shortly after Trump faced criticism, was an improper donation to Trump’s campaign.

Trump made repeated pleas for supporters to protest on his Truth Social platform, predicting “potential death and destruction” that “could be catastrophic for our Country” if he is charged with a crime.

Before the indictment was announced, Trump’s attorney, Joe Tacopina, called on the New York City Department of Investigation, the city’s inspector general, to investigate what he called the “weaponization” of the district attorney’s office.