It becomes the first ever criminal case against a former U.S. president and a jolt to Trump’s bid to retake the White House in 2024.
The grand jury indictment of Trump, 76, is an extraordinary development after years of investigations into his business, political and personal dealings. It is likely to galvanize critics who say Trump lied and cheated his way to the top and embolden supporters who feel the Republican is being unfairly targeted by a Democratic prosecutor.
Trump sought re-election in 2020 but was defeated by Democrat Joe Biden. Trump has falsely claimed he lost to Biden due to widespread voting fraud and has called the investigation that led to his indictment a "political witch hunt."
The charges, arising from an investigation led by Democratic Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, stem from a probe into hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels. Bragg's office last year won the criminal conviction of the businessman-turned-politician's real estate company.
A grand jury convened by Bragg in January began hearing evidence about Trump's role in the payment to Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election that he ended up winning. Daniels, a well-known adult film actress and director whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has said she received the money in exchange for keeping silent about a sexual encounter she had with Trump in 2006.
The former president's personal lawyer Michael Cohen has said Trump directed hush payments to Daniels and to a second woman, former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who also said she had a sexual relationship with him. Trump has denied having affairs with either woman.
Federal prosecutors examined the Daniels payoff in 2018, leading to a prison sentence for Cohen, but no charges against Trump.
Trump in 2018 initially disputed knowing anything about the payment to Daniels. He later acknowledged reimbursing Cohen for the payment, which he called a "simple private transaction."
In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance law violations for his role in orchestrating the payments to Daniels and McDougal and was sentenced to three years in prison. He testified that Trump directed him to make the payments. Cohen testified before the Manhattan grand jury investigating Trump on March 13.
Daniels has said she had a sexual encounter with Trump at a Lake Tahoe hotel in 2006 — the year after he married his current wife Melania and more than a decade before he became president.
No former or sitting U.S. president has ever faced criminal charges. Trump also faces two criminal investigations by a special counsel appointed by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and one by a local prosecutor in Georgia.
Trump, a divisive figure in U.S. politics with support particularly among white blue-collar and conservative Christian voters, served as president from 2017 to 2021, governing as a right-wing populist. He was impeached twice by the House of Representatives, once in 2019 over his conduct regarding Ukraine and again in 2021 over the attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters. He was acquitted by the Senate both times.
He leads his early rivals for his party's nomination, holding the support of 43% of Republicans in a February Resuters/Ipsos, compared with 31% support for his nearest rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has yet to announce his candidacy. Biden is expected to seek re-election.
Trump on March 18 wrote on social media that he had expected to be arrested on March 21 and urged his supporters to protest to "take our nation back," reminiscent of his exhortations ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
