Now things are getting serious for former US President Donald Trump (76). As the “New York Times” reported on Thursday, a grand jury in the New York borough of Manhattan voted to criminally indict Trump. A novelty in the history of the USA: Never before has an ex-president had to answer to a criminal court. On Wednesday it was actually said that the jury would take a two-week break and then decide on the indictment. So far, the exact bill of indictment has been kept secret by the public prosecutor. However, US media report that this will probably be published in the coming days.
The case is about Donald Trump’s alleged hush money payments to the porn actress Stormy Daniels (44). Daniels claims to have had an affair with Trump. The entrepreneur and politician denies this. His former campaign manager is said to have paid Daniels hush money ahead of the 2016 presidential election. These payments may have violated the Campaign Finance Act, which would constitute a criminal offense.
Trump had been expecting charges for weeks and was already speculating that he would be arrested on March 21, 2023, which apparently never happened. He also called on his political supporters to protest. The city of New York City was already arming itself against demonstrations because massive riots were feared.
