The White House is silent on the unprecedented charges against ex-President Donald Trump.
The former President of the United States and the leading Republican presidential nominee for 2024 was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on Thursday after years of investigation by Manhattan prosecutors.
TRUMP SUBMITTED AFTER MANHATTAN DA INVESTIGATION FOR SILENCE PAYMENTS
Former U.S. President Donald Trump exits Trump Tower in Manhattan on May 18, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by James Devaney/GC Images) ____ WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 23: US President Joe Biden speaks on the economy during an event in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on November 23, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by James Devaney/GC Images | Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
The White House declined to comment when asked for a response to the unprecedented charges against Trump.
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.
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.
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 SAYS DA BRAGGS’ ‘OBSESSION’ WITH TRYING ‘TO GET TRUMP’ WILL ‘FIRE BACK’ AFTER GRAND JURY INdictment
“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.”
Reacting to his impeachment, Trump criticized Bragg for his “obsession” with trying to “get Trump,” while warning that the move to impeach a former United States President will “backfire” on President Biden.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a 2024 campaign rally in Waco, Texas March 25, 2023. – Trump held the rally at the site of the deadly 1993 standoff between an anti-government cult and federal agents. ((Photo by SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty Images))
“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.”
President Joe Biden speaks at the University of Tampa in Tampa, Florida on February 9, 2023 on his administration’s plans to protect Social Security and Medicare and reduce healthcare costs. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
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.
TRUMP TARGETED: A LOOK AT THE INVESTIGATIONS AGAINST FORMER PRESIDENT; FROM RUSSIA TO MAR-A-LAGO
Last August, in an unprecedented move, the FBI raided Trump’s private home in Mar-a-Lago in connection with an investigation into classified records the former president allegedly took from the White House.
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.
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.
Source : www.foxnews.com