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by Luc Cohen and Karen Freifeld
NEW YORK, March 30 (Reuters) – Donald Trump has been indicted by a grand jury investigating a payment made by his former lawyer to porn actress ‘Stormy Daniels’ during the 2016 election campaign, officials said on Thursday. two sources, a first for a former US president.
This indictment comes as Donald Trump has already announced his candidacy for the next presidential election of 2024.
The case, brought by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, could reshuffle the cards for the presidential campaign. Donald Trump has already indicated that he would stand by for the Republican Party nomination if charged with a crime.
Donald Trump said in a statement that he was “completely innocent”.
“This is political persecution and election interference at the highest level,” the former president said, without providing evidence.
The exact nature of the charges against Donald Trump is not yet known and the indictment will likely be announced in the coming days.
Donald Trump’s lawyers, Susan Necheles and Joseph Tacopina, said they would “vigorously fight” the charges.
Susan Necheles said she does not know when the former president will surrender.
The White House declined to comment.
The prosecutor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Prosecutor Alvin Bragg’s office this year began presenting evidence to a grand jury investigating a payment made by Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen to “Stormy Daniels” days before the start of the 2016 election campaign.
The lawyer claimed that these payments were made at the request of Donald Trump while Stephanie Clifford, the real name of “Stormy Daniels”, said that she had a relationship with Donald Trump ten years earlier, which the court denies. former US president.
No former president or current president in the United States has ever been the subject of criminal proceedings.
(With input from the offices of Reutersr Written by Andy Sullivan; French version Camille Raynaud)
