Donald Trump indicted: After investigating hush money payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign, a Manhattan grand jury has indicted former US President Donald Trump.
Trump's indictment, following an investigation into hush money payments made to Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign, marks the first time in US history that a former commander-in-chief has been charged with a crime.
What is the Hush money case against Trump?
Donald Trump was indicted on Thursday in connection with the alleged payment of hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels to avert a scandal before the 2016 US presidential election.
Daniels claimed that she met Trump at a celebrity golf outing in Lake Tahoe in July 2006, where he invited her to dinner in his hotel suite. She also alleged that they had consensual sex.
However, Trump denied having a romantic relationship with Daniels and asserted that he paid her to stop making extortionate and false charges against him.
Court records filed in Los Angeles showed that Daniels signed a non-disclosure agreement on October 28, 2016, just before the presidential election that Trump won, whereby she consented to receive a payment of USD 130,000 in exchange for her promise to keep her relationship with him private.
What is the impact of indictment on Trump's election Bid?
According to Republican Party officials and political analysts, many of Trump's followers see the indictment as politically motivated and may become even more determined to support him in the 2024 presidential election. Earlier this month, Trump had hinted at the possibility of facing charges and had raised around USD 2 million in preparation for the legal battle.
In a statement released on Thursday, Trump claimed that the charges were politically motivated and represented the highest level of political persuasion and election interference in history, although he provided no evidence to support his claims.
