30.03.2023
The prosecutor confirmed the indictment and said that he is organizing the “delivery” of the former president, while the New York Police is “mobilized” before a possible imminent arrest.
A New York grand jury voted on Thursday (03.30.2023) in favor of indicting the former president Donald Trump (2017-2021) in a case related to the payment to the porn actress Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence, according to The New York Times and confirmed by the authorities.
The grand jury’s decision thus makes the former Republican president the first former president of USA to be officially charged.
The newspaper, which quotes four people familiar with the matter, pointed out that the first indictment for criminal offenses against a former US president will be announced in the coming days and by then the Manhattan Prosecutor’s Office will have asked Trump to turn himself in to be cited for the charges, which are not yet known.
A New York prosecutor confirmed hours later the former president’s indictment and his office said it was organizing the “delivery” of the magnate, after a grand jury decided to indict him for paying $130,000 to a porn actress in 2016.
“Tonight we contacted Mr. Trump’s attorney to arrange for his delivery to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for arraignment,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office said in a statement.
The grand jury, a body that studies cases and decides whether or not there is a basis for holding a trial, has been followed with great media attention since Trump himself assured ten days ago that its 23 members were going to confirm his accusation and immediately afterwards he would be arrested, which finally did not occur.
Until yesterday, it was believed that the grand jury would postpone its decision until the end of April.
For its part, The Wall Street Journal maintains that the grand jury has examined in its latest meetings -which are not public, so their content is only known through leaks- a second case of another Playboy model who also accuses Trump of having paid him in exchange for keeping quiet about a sexual relationship.
The model Karen McDougal, who was “Playboy girl” of the year in 1998, says she had a sexual relationship with Trump for ten months in 2006, and reached an agreement to publish her story with The National Enquirer in exchange for $150,000 (137,500 euros at today’s exchange rate), but the newspaper -whose owner is a friend of Trump- bought his testimony to hide it.
The detail is important, because it would mean that the accusation of Stormy Daniels is no longer isolated and that there is a pattern of conduct on the part of Trump, which makes his guilt more likely.
Trump fights back
Donald Trump stood up to the accusation denouncing “political persecution and electoral interference” in the 2024 elections, in which he aspires to be a candidate.
“I am sure that this witch hunt will turn violently against Joe Biden,” he said in a statement, after learning of press reports about the New York grand jury vote.
NYPD on alert
Meanwhile, the headquarters of the New York Police (NYPD) ordered all agents to wear their uniform and prepare for a “mobilization” after the impeachment of the former president.
In an internal memo sent to department staff around 5:30 p.m. local time, just after the news broke, and reviewed by the New York Times, officers of all ranks are required to wear uniforms and be ready for deployment at any time.
Law enforcement have tightened security measures in recent days, since Trump himself predicted that he would be arrested – something that has not happened so far.
Security was extreme in the New York courts where the grand jury that voted on the indictment met under great media scrutiny, as well as near the prosecutor’s offices, which have received hundreds of threats, and in front of the hotel and the Tower Trump.
Last updated at 02:27 CET.
jov/gs (efe, afp, Archyde.com)