explainer
Trump is due to appear before authorities next week, though the exact date is not yet known.
Former President Donald Trump was killed by a Manhattan grand jury in New York after an investigation into payments made to silence allegations of extramarital sex during the 2016 presidential election, according to prosecutors and defense attorneys. indicted.
The indictment itself, the first criminal charge against a former president in U.S. history, has so far remained sealed.
Trump is expected to appear before authorities next week, a person familiar with the matter but not authorized to discuss publicly told The Associated Press. The person said the details of the surrender were still under consideration.
Here’s what happened in NYC on Thursday and what’s expected to happen next.
criminal responsibility
- A grand jury, held in secret, voted to indict the 76-year-old former Republican president, following an investigation led by Democratic Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
- The charges remain sealed, but the charges against Trump are believed to be related to hush money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
- A grand jury, which has been open since January, indicted Trump after hearing testimony from numerous witnesses.
- Among those who testified was Trump’s former personal attorney and fixer Michael Cohen, who claimed that Daniels paid $130,000 to buy her silence about her relationship with Trump in 2006. He acknowledged that he had arranged the payment.
- Trump was asked to testify in person, but declined.
Surrender
- Manhattan District Attorney Bragg’s office said it reached out to Trump’s attorneys to arrange his surrender and arraignment in New York at a future date.
- In arraignment, the accused is presented with the charges they face and usually files a petition.
- For New York defendants, answering criminal charges means being fingerprinted and photographed and answering basic questions such as name and date of birth. Overall, defendants are usually detained for at least several hours during arraignment.
- CBS said the Secret Service would be responsible for the arrangements.
- A judge will then decide whether to release them on bail or hold them in custody.
- If Trump does turn himself in, expect a carefully choreographed and relatively quick process and release.
- The former president is unlikely to wear cuffs across the sidewalk or through a crowded courthouse.
- Extra security has been in place for several days around the Manhattan courthouse, where Trump is expected to appear in court for the first time.
- But there is no strategy for reserving former presidents with U.S. Secret Service protection. Trump keeps his details, so agents should always be by his side.
delivery
- Trump, who claims to be “absolutely innocent,” could be forced to refuse to surrender to New York authorities and seek his extradition from his Florida residence.
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he could be Trump’s rival for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, but his state “does not support extradition requests.”
- Legal experts said any attempt to oppose the extradition would result in delays at best, and Trump would eventually have to appear in New York to face charges.
Next Judicial Step
- Once Trump is arraigned and the petition is filed, there will be a series of preliminary court hearings to set a trial date and determine witnesses and evidence.
- Defendants can avoid going to trial, for example, by entering into plea bargains with prosecutors in exchange for a lesser sentence.
2024 White House Candidacy
- Despite facing criminal charges, Trump can and will continue to run for the 2024 White House.
- Nothing in the U.S. Constitution prevents someone from running for president when indicted, and a conviction does not remove them from the nation’s highest office.
- The 14th Amendment prohibits those who are “involved in rioting or insurrection” from holding elective office.
- The House of Representatives impeached Trump for “inciting riots” by supporters of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, but the Senate acquitted him.
- A special counsel is investigating Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 attacks on Congress, and the former president could still be indicted on that front.
