A Manhattan grand jury voted to indict former President Donald Trump.
While the exact charges in the indictment were not entirely clear by Thursday afternoon, what is known is that the case stems from alleged hush-money payments to a porn actress.
A felony indictment was sealed and filed by the Manhattan district attorney’s office, and is expected to be announced within days, The New York Times reported.
“Never before in our Nations history has this been done,” Trump said in a statement Thursday.
It was not clear how Trump would be brought in to face charges or if he would be arrested.
The Associated Press reported that Trump’s lawyers informed him of the indictment, adding that they would “vigorously” fight the charges.
Trump suggested he knew criminal charges were coming. Trump said on his Truth social media account earlier this month that he believed he would be arrested. Trump also called on his supporters to protest the arrest.
Braggs office has been investigating payments allegedly made by Trump and his former personal attorney Michael Cohen to Stormy Daniels. It was revealed that Daniels received a payment from Trump through Cohen to remain quiet about their relationship in the leadup to the 2016 election.
Cohen told Scripps News in a text, “I take no pride in issuing this statement and wish to also remind everyone of the presumption of innocence, as provided by the due process clause. However, I do take solace in validating the adage that no one is above the law, not even a former President. Todays indictment is not the end of this chapter, but rather just the beginning.”
Recently, Daniels and her attorney Clark Brewster confirmed on Twitter that she met with prosecutors at the request of Braggs office.
In a statement on Thursday, he said, “The indictment of Donald Trump is no cause for joy. The hard work and conscientiousness of the grand jurors must be respected. Now let truth and justice prevail. No one is above the law.”
The indictment comes as Trump is launching his 2024 election bid.
Trump is also battling several other ongoing investigations, including a federal investigation into his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House. He is also being investigated in Georgia for pressuring election officials to change the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
Trump’s full statement:
This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history. From the time I came down the golden escalator at Trump Tower, and even before I was sworn in as your President of the United States, the Radical Left Democrats – the enemy of the hard-working men and women of this Country – have been engaged in a Witch-Hunt to destroy the Make America Great Again movement. You remember it just like I do: Russia, Russia, Russia; the Mueller Hoax; Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine; Impeachment Hoax 1; Impeachment Hoax 2; the illegal and unconstitutional Mar-a-Lago raid; and now this. The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to Get Trump, but now theyve done the unthinkable – indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference. Never before in our Nations history has this been done. The Democrats have cheated countless times over the decades, including spying on my campaign, but weaponizing our justice system to punish a political opponent, who just so happens to be a President of the United States and by far the leading Republican candidate for President, has never happened before. Ever. Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, who was hand-picked and funded by George Soros, is a disgrace. Rather than stopping the unprecedented crime wave taking over New York City, hes doing Joe Bidens dirty work, ignoring the murders and burglaries and assaults he should be focused on. This is how Bragg spends his time! I believe this Witch-Hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden. The American people realize exactly what the Radical Left Democrats are doing here. Everyone can see it. So our Movement, and our Party – united and strong – will first defeat Alvin Bragg, and then we will defeat Joe Biden, and we are going to throw every last one of these Crooked Democrats out of office so we can MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!