Donald Trump inculpé pour un paiement de silence en 2016 – rapport

Donald Trump, the former US president, has been indicted in New York over a hush money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election. This is the first time a former US president has ever been criminally indicted. The news is expected to shake the race for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, in which Trump leads most polls. Trump also faces legal jeopardy over his election subversion, incitement of the January 6 attack on Congress, attempts to overturn the 2020 result in Georgia, retention of classified records, business dealings, and a defamation suit arising from an allegation of rape by writer E Jean Carroll, which Trump denies.

Daniels claims to have had an affair with Trump in 2006, which he denies. However, he has admitted directing his then lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, to pay Daniels $130,000 for her silence. Cohen was also revealed to have arranged for $150,000 to be paid to Playboy model Karen McDougal, who claimed to have had an affair with Trump. That payment was made by David Pecker, the publisher of the National Enquirer tabloid newspaper, which squashed the story. Investigations of the Daniels payment have dragged on, and earlier this year, Mark Pomerantz, an experienced New York prosecutor, called the payment a « zombie case » that would not die.

Andrew Weissmann, a former federal prosecutor in New York, said Trump would likely not head swiftly to court. A criminal case takes time, and there is no end of motions that can be filed to delay a trial, which could easily cause the litigation to be ongoing during the Republican primary season in 2024. Even in a more quotidian case, having a trial within a year of indictment would be quick.

Keywords: Donald Trump, Stormy Daniels, hush money payment, indictment, Republican presidential nomination, election subversion, incitement, Georgia, defamation suit, Michael Cohen, Karen McDougal, National Enquirer, investigation, criminal case, trial.