Former President Trump said Thursday that he “cannot get a fair trial in New York” after being indicted by a grand jury after years of investigation by Manhattan prosecutors.
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The Manhattan grand jury issued an unprecedented indictment against a former President of the United States and leading Republican presidential nominee of the 2024 cycle.
“They only brought these bogus, corrupt and shameful charges against me because I stand with the American people and they know I can’t get a fair trial in New York!” Trump posted on his TRUTH Social on Thursday night.
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Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is investigating Trump over hush money payments ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
These include paying adult film actress Stormy Daniels $130,000 and paying former Playboy model Karen McDougal $150,000, Fox News Digital has learned.
Hush money payments to McDougal and Daniels were exposed and reported by Fox News in 2018. These payments had been investigated by the US Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York and by the Federal Election Commission.
Former US President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at Waco Regional Airport ((Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images))
Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York refrained from charging Trump in connection with the payment to Stormy Daniels in 2019, even though Cohen implicated him in his plea deal. The Federal Electoral Commission also closed its investigation into the matter in 2021.
TRUMP SUBMITTED AFTER MANHATTAN DA INVESTIGATION FOR SILENCE PAYMENTS
“Tonight we contacted Mr. Trump’s attorney to coordinate his transfer to the Manhattan Attorney’s Office for indictment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains classified,” a spokesman for the Manhattan Attorney’s Office said in a statement on Thursday. “Guidance will be given in choosing the date of indictment.”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 06: Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg arrives in the courtroom during the Trump Organization tax fraud trial at the New York Supreme Court on December 06, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) ((Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images))
Trump slammed Bragg for his “obsession” with trying to “get Trump” after news of the impeachment broke, while warning that the move to impeach a former United States President will “backfire.” .
“This is political persecution and election interference at the highest level in history,” Trump said in a statement. “Ever since I came down the golden escalator in Trump Tower and before I was sworn in as your President of the United States, the radical left Democrats – the enemy of this country’s hard-working men and women – have been engaged in a witch hunt to destroy the Make America.” destroy the Great Again movement.”
“The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession to ‘get Trump,’ but now they’ve done the unthinkable — they’ve charged a completely innocent person with flagrant tampering,” he said. “Never before in our nation’s history has this been done.”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 21: A woman walks past Trump Tower after NYPD officers erected step barricades after a small crowd gathered on March 21, 2023 in New York City. NYC and other cities are bracing for a possible indictment of former President Donald Trump by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in his investigation into the former president’s involvement in a hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election. (Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
Trump said Democrats are guilty of “weaponizing our justice system to punish a political opponent.”
“I believe this witch hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden,” Trump said. “The American people recognize exactly what the radical left Democrats are doing here. Everyone can see it.”
The investigation into Trump was initiated in 2019 by then-Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance. The investigation focused on possible banking, insurance and tax fraud. The case initially involved financial dealings with Trump’s Manhattan properties, including his flagship building on Fifth Avenue, Trump Tower, and the valuation of his 213-acre Seven Springs estate in Westchester.
Last year’s investigations led to tax fraud allegations against The Trump Organization and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg.
TRUMP SAYS DA BRAGGS’ ‘OBSESSION’ WITH TRYING ‘TO GET TRUMP’ WILL ‘FIRE BACK’ AFTER GRAND JURY INdictment
Meanwhile, the charges against Trump come amid a separate investigation by a special counsel into his alleged improper storage of secret records from his presidency at his home in Mar-a-Lago.
Last August, in an unprecedented move, the FBI searched Trump’s private home in Mar-a-Lago iIn connection with an investigation into secret records allegedly taken by the former President from the White House.
Members of the media gather following the indictment of former US President Donald Trump by a Manhattan grand jury following an investigation into hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels, in New York City, the United States, March 30, 2023. (REUTERS/Jeenah Moon)
Attorney General Merrick Garland later appointed Jack Smith as Special Counsel to handle those investigations and the Justice Department’s investigation into the January 6, 2021 Capitol riots — specifically, whether Trump or other officials and entities interfered with the peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 presidential election, including confirming the Electoral College vote on January 6, 2021.
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President Biden is also currently under investigation by a special counsel for his alleged improper retention of classified Obama administration records. Former Vice President Pence also kept secret records at his home – a matter under investigation by the Justice Department.
The indictments against Trump also come as New York Attorney General Letitia James continues her year-long civil investigation into the Trump Organization to determine whether Trump and his company unreasonably inflated the value of assets in financial statements to obtain credit and tax benefits.
Source : www.foxnews.com