A Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict former President Donald Trump for his role in hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels, The New York Times reported on Thursday, citing “four people with knowledge of the matter.”
The Times called it a “historic development that will shake up the 2024 presidential race and forever mark him as the nation’s first former president to face criminal charges.”
As with any high-profile court case, a potential criminal prosecution of Mr Trump will be slow and marked with constant battles. Expect Mr Trump to fight the indictment every step of the way, with motions to dismiss, allegations of impropriety aimed at Mr Bragg and perhaps even the judge, and a knock-down-drag-out fight over allegations that have been public knowledge for a half decade. He may even fight extradition to New York with an appeal to Florida’s state authorities, though that would likely not be successful. Mr Trump’s lawyer, Joe Tacopina, has previously indicated the former president will cooperate if he is charged. “There won’t be a standoff at Mar-a-Lago with Secret Service and the Manhattan DA’s office,” he said.
Mr Trump will eventually be arraigned, which is likely to take place in-person in Manhattan. That will be the first of potentially many hearings where Mr Trump will actually have to show up at the courthouse, prompting a media spectacle each and every time he appears. Each appearance will be dissected endlessly by cable news networks and picked apart for some clue about the former president’s mood or confidence in beating the charges.