From NOTICE News Daily for April 3, 2023
Former President Donald Trump has been criminally indicted – the first time in American history a former president has been charged with a crime. We break it all down.
TRANSCRIPT
Former President Donald J. Trump has been criminally charged for crimes relating to an alleged hush-money payment made right before the 2016 election.
It’s the first time ever in American history that a former president has been charged with a crime.
Prosecutors say Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen gave money to a woman to cover up an affair almost ten years earlier with Trump, and Trump then paid Cohen back.
That’s not necessarily a crime, but covering it up might be – and because Trump was running for president – it could also be an illegal campaign contribution.
But – we don’t know the exact crimes that president Trump has been charged with yet.
This week, president Trump is expected to go to New York City for his arraignment.
It’s there that Trump will appear before a judge to be officially presented with the charges against him – and enter a plea – either guilty or not guilty.
Neama Rahmani is a former federal prosecutor:
“Trump will be given the opportunity to appear in court. He’s not going to be arrested. Now he will be booked, which means he’ll be fingerprinted. He’ll have his mug shot taken. [Flash] His attorneys, of course, will plead not guilty for him. I don’t expect there to be any pretrial resolution in this case. And we’re going to see the most politically charged trial in American history.”
President Trump has maintained his innocence, saying he’s the victim of a blackmail plot.
Republicans have called the charges politically motivated – and Trump – who is actively running for president again – has vowed to fight the charges and keep campaigning.
It’s unclear exactly how this will all play out – and this isn’t the only legal trouble the former president is facing.
He’s also under investigation for his role in the January 6th insurrection at the Capitol…
His efforts to pressure elected officials in Georgia after the 2020 election…
And taking and subsequently failing to turn over classified documents after he left office.
The only thing that’s clear is that we are in an unparalleled and unprecedented moment in American history.
