(CNN) Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter — the first time in American history that a current or former president has faced criminal charges.
The charge has been filed under seal and will be announced in the coming days. The charges are not publicly known at this time, a source told CNN. Trump is likely to be arraigned in court as early as next week, according to his defense attorney, Joe Tacopina.
The DA’s office is investigating the former president for his alleged role in a hush money payment scheme and cover-up involving adult film star Stormy Daniels that began in the 2016 presidential election. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office will contact Trump’s lawyers to discuss his surrender to face an arraignment.
The decision is sure to send shockwaves across the country, rocking the American political system — which has never seen one of its former leaders face criminal charges, much less while running for re-election. for the presidency — before it found water.
Trump released a statement in response to the accusation claiming it was “Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history.”
“I believe this Witch-Hunt will backfire on Joe Biden,” the former president said. “Americans realize exactly what the Radical Left Democrats are doing here. Everyone can see it. So our Movement, and our Party – united and strong – first defeat Alvin Bragg, and then we defeat Joe Biden, and we’re going to throw every last one of these Crooked Democrats out of office so we can MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba said in a statement that Trump “is a victim of a corrupt and distorted version of the justice system and American history. He will be vindicated.”
Trump was caught off guard by the grand jury’s decision to indict him, according to a person who spoke directly to him As the former president prepared for an indictment last week, he began to believe news reports that a potential that indictment is weeks — or more — away.
“Is it a shock right now? Hell yes,” the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity as Trump’s team calculated its response.
The legal action against Trump has pushed the 2024 presidential campaign into a new phase – where the former president has vowed to continue running in the face of criminal charges.
Trump has often called the various investigations surrounding him a “witch hunt,” trying to sway public opinion about them by making himself the victim of what he claims are political investigations led. of Democratic prosecutors. As the indictment nears, Trump has urged his supporters to protest his arrest, echoing his calls for action after the 2020 election as he tries to reverse his loss to President Joe Biden.
Trump has long avoided legal consequences in his personal, professional and political life. He has settled numerous private civil cases over the years and has paid his way out of disputes over the Trump Organization, his namesake company. As president, he was twice impeached by the Democratic-led House, but avoided conviction in the Senate.
In December, the Trump Organization was convicted of multiple tax fraud charges, although Trump himself was not charged in that case.
Trump’s Republican allies — as well as his GOP rivals in 2024 — condemned the Manhattan district attorney’s office over the pending indictment, and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy vowed to launch an investigation. in that matter.
GOP rally in defense of Trump
Republicans in Congress quickly rallied to Trump’s defense, attacking Bragg on Twitter and accusing the district attorney of a political witch hunt.
“Outrageous,” tweeted House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio, one of the Republican committee chairmen who asked Bragg to testify before Congress about the Trump investigation.
Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, called the indictment “totally unprecedented” and said it was “a catastrophic development in the weaponization of the justice system.”
But at least one moderate Republican told CNN he trusts the legal system.
“I believe in the rule of law. I think we have checks and balances and I trust the system,” said Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska.
“We have a judge. We have juries. There are appeals. So I think in the end, justice will be done. If he’s guilty it will show up. But if not, I think that will be shown as well,” Bacon said. on CNN.
An investigation began under Cy Vance
Bragg’s office signaled in early March that they were close to filing charges against Trump after they invited the former president to testify before a grand jury investigating the hush money scheme. Potential defendants in New York are required by law to be notified and invited to appear before a grand jury that weighs the charges. But Trump ultimately refused to appear before the panel.
The long-running investigation first began under Bragg’s predecessor, Cy Vance, when Trump was in office. It relates to a $130,000 payment that Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen made to Daniels in late October 2016, days before the 2016 presidential election, to silence him from reporting. publicly about an alleged affair with Trump a decade ago. Trump has denied the affair.
At issue in the investigation are the payments made to Daniels and the Trump Organization’s payments to Cohen.
According to court filings in Cohen’s own federal prosecution, Trump Organization executives authorized payments to him totaling $420,000 to cover his original $130,000 in compensation and tax liabilities and reward him with a bonus . The Trump Organization noted the reimbursements as a legal expense on its internal books. Trump denied knowledge of the payment.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
CNN’s Paula Reid, Kristen Holmes, Brynn Gingras, Lauren del Valle, Evan Perez, Katelyn Polantz and Jeff Zeleny contributed to this report.
