Donald Trump becomes first indicted ex-U.S. president

News broke on Thursday that Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury after a probe into hush money paid to female adult film star Stormy Daniels, making him the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges even as he makes another run for the White House.

A grand jury has voted to indict Trump, after months of hearing evidence about a USD 130,000 payment to female adult film star Stormy Daniels in the waning days of the 2016 election campaign. The money was intended to buy her silence about the encounter she says they had years before.

The specific charges are not yet known, as the indictment remains under seal, but CNN on Thursday reported Trump faces more than 30 counts related to business fraud.

The charges will likely be unsealed by a judge in the coming days at which point Trump will have to travel to Manhattan for fingerprinting and other processing.

BREAKING: Official Statement by Donald J. Trump, 45th President of the United States of America:

“This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history." pic.twitter.com/tIGPyA4PCT

— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) March 30, 2023

Trump said he was “completely innocent” and indicated he would not drop out of the 2024 presidential race. He has accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, of trying to hurt his chances of winning re-election against Democratic President Joe Biden.

Bragg successfully prosecuted Trump's business last year on tax-fraud charges, leading to a USD 1.61 mln criminal penalty.