Former President Donald Trump has been indicted by a New York grand jury for his role in covering hush money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office said it has contacted Trump’s attorney “to coordinate his surrender” for arraignment.
The grand jury’s indictment — and Trump’s charges — remain under seal, and NPR hasn’t been able to confirm other media reports that the DA may arraign Trump on Tuesday.
Here are five things to know about the latest news.
1. The grand jury has been investigating Trump for months
Trump is likely to be charged with a violation of New York penal code 175.10, falsifying business records in the first degree, says Kim Wehle, a former U.S. attorney and now a law professor at the University of Baltimore.
“It’s quite serious, even if the charge itself doesn’t reach the heights that some people would expect from a former president,” Wehle told NPR’s Adrian Florido on All Things Considered.
Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen negotiated a deal with porn star Stormy Daniels, paying her $130,000 in exchange for keeping quiet about an alleged affair with Trump.
Cohen transferred that money to Daniels less than two weeks before the election. And then after Trump won, Trump reimbursed Cohen, including with his own personal checks. Trump has denied having had an affair with Daniels, although he has admitted reimbursing Cohen for money paid to her.
The Trump Organization said that those reimbursement payments were for legal fees, which is not true. In New York, that’s a felony if it was done to cover up another crime — in this case, probably the violation of…
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