Donald Trump is the first former US president facing crime charges under the famous Trump indictment. A Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Trump for paying adult film star Stormy Daniels money to keep quiet.
The decision by the grand jury to charge Trump over the payments, which were made before the 2016 presidential election, was made public on Thursday, March 30.
Sources told CNN that the one-term president is being charged with more than 30 counts of business fraud. On Tuesday, April 4, Trump will be questioned about the charges in Manhattan Criminal Court.
WACO, TEXAS – MARCH 25: Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at the Waco Regional Airport on March 25, 2023 in Waco, Texas. Former U.S. president Donald Trump attended and spoke at his first rally since announcing his 2024 presidential campaign. Today in Waco also marks the 30 year anniversary of the weeks deadly standoff involving Branch Davidians and federal law enforcement. 82 Davidians were killed, and four agents left dead. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Trump Indictment: Former US President May Receive Gag Order
The former US president has been ranting on social media about the Trump indictment for days about the hush money investigation by District Attorney Alvin Bragg, his former lawyer Michael Cohen, prosecutors, and, most recently, the judge in charge of the historic case.
Without any proof, he has said that Judge Juan Merchan is “anti-Trump” and that Bragg “handpicked” Merchan. In an interview on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, the host asked Trump’s lawyer, Joe Tacopina, about the attacks and if he thought the judge had a bias.
Tacopina doesn’t think the judge is biased and thinks the former president has the right to have his own opinion regarding the Trump indictment.
All defendants have the right to fight hard for their innocence, but NBC News said that under New York law, Trump couldn’t threaten the prosecutor without risking other charges.
According to the same NBC News story, the judge could also give an order to keep the former US president and his lawyers from talking about Trump indictment in public.
READ ALSO: Trump Indictment May Be Delayed For 1 Year, Federal Prosecutors Say
What Indictment Means
An indictment is a formal notice from prosecutors that they think a person has committed a crime. It also has basic information about the charges they face.
The Department of Justice says that a prosecutor must present their case to a grand jury in order to get an indictment on a felony charge.
Witnesses can be called to testify in front of the grand jury, and evidence is given in a session or sessions held behind closed doors.
After hearing what the prosecutor and witnesses have to say, the grand jury votes in secret to decide if there is enough evidence to bring charges.
If a grand jury thinks there isn’t enough proof, an indictment won’t exist.
All things that happen in front of a grand jury, which usually has 16 to 23 people in a federal case, are kept secret. For an indictment to be made, at least 12 people on a grand jury must agree.
Lawyers say that the burden of proof for a grand jury is low because the process does not decide guilt or innocence. Instead, it is a way to move a case forward and get it to trial.
READ ALSO: Trump Indictment: See How It Deepened U.S. Political Gap
