Donald Trump is facing about 30 document fraud-related charges in New York City after a grand jury voted Thursday to indict the former president, two sources familiar with the matter told NBC News.
The exact charges are unknown because the indictment remains under seal until Trump is expected to appear in court for his arraignment Tuesday. The large number of charges likely stems from prosecutors making separate charges for each payment in question.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg could choose to unseal the indictment sooner, but as of Friday morning, it appeared the DA will follow normal procedure and wait until Trump appears in court.
The case, one of at least three separate and ongoing investigations into the former president, centers around alleged hush money Trump paid to two women to keep quiet about affairs they allegedly had with him ahead of the 2016 campaign, including adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Trump has denied the affair but acknowledged the payments.
Two sources familiar with the Manhattan grand jury’s work say prosecutors also questioned witnesses about a previous alleged hush money payment to former Playboy playmate Karen McDougal.
In 2018, longtime former Trump attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to breaking campaign finance laws and admitted to making hush money payments of $130,000 and $150,000 to two women “at the direction of a candidate for federal office” — a clear reference to Trump, though he was not named — “with the purpose of influencing the [2016] election,” according to court documents.
The sums match the amount paid to Daniels and McDougal.
McDougal had said she had a monthslong affair with Trump not long after he married Melania Trump, which Trump has denied. She was paid through the parent company of the National Enquirer, a Trump-aligned tabloid that purchased exclusive her rights to her story, which it never published, in a so-called “catch-and-kill” operation to protect Trump.
Cohen is now the government’s star witness. Prosecutors are expected to allege that Trump falsified business records to cover up the payments to Daniels and McDougal, which they are expected to say amounted to illegal campaign expenditures.
Trump has said the payments were a legal expense and that he did nothing wrong, alleging the prosecution is a political witch hunt.
Trump attorney Joe Tacopino said in an interview on NBC’s “TODAY” show Friday that there is “zero chance” the former president will take a plea deal, insisting Trump expects to be vindicated either before or during a trial.
“President Trump will not take a plea deal on this case. It’s not gonna happen,” Tacopinas said. “There’s no crime. I don’t know if it’s gonna make it to trial because we have substantial legal challenges.”
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
