A historic event happened in New York City today: Donald Trump was the first former president in US history to appear in court for an indictment. The 76-year-old, who announced his renewed candidacy for the 2024 presidential election, traveled from Florida on Monday. What crimes the prosecutor’s office in Manhattan accuses the Republican of, he and his lawyers only found out at the appointment.
The basis for the charges is a hush money payment to the porn actress Stormy Daniels. Daniels claims to have had sex with Trump in 2006. Ten years later, when he ran for president, he reportedly instructed his then-attorney, Michael Cohen, to pay Daniels $130,000 to keep the alleged affair private. Trump admits that money has flowed – after all, paying hush money is not illegal. However, according to the public prosecutor’s office, he violated the laws on campaign finance – which could now be his undoing. He has been charged with 34 counts.
Read how the historic day in New York unfolded.
