The indictment against the former president remains sealed, but comes after Bragg’s office had been investigating Trump for his alleged involvement with a $130,000 payment in 2016 to adult entertainment actress Stormy Daniels by his lawyer at the time, Michael Cohen. The payment allegedly was made to stop Daniels from going public with her claim of an affair with Trump before the 2016 election. Trump denies the alleged affair.
Bragg’s office may argue the payment should have been classified as a campaign expense but was wrongly classified as a business expense by the Trump Organization—in violation of Section 175 of New York law—which classifies the falsification of business records as a Class E felony. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) had already declined to prosecute the 2016 payment to Daniels as an election law violation.
The indictment comes as Trump has already begun campaigning to retake the White House in 2024 and leads in numerous Republican presidential primary polls.
“This time around, I am choosing to prioritize my young children and the private life we are creating as a family,” she told Fox News in November after her father launched his 2024 campaign. “I do not plan to be involved in politics. While I will always love and support my father, going forward I will do so outside the political arena.”
Voices From ‘Across the Political Spectrum’
Ivanka Trump did not elaborate further on the messages of support and concern she said had come from “across the political spectrum” after news broke of her father’s indictment.Case Moving Forward
The former president is scheduled to appear before New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan on April 3.On Friday, a spokesperson for Bragg’s office announced they are coordinating with Trump’s attorneys for his “surrender.”
Trump’s attorney, Joseph Tacopina, said Trump is “angry, disappointed, but he’s ready to fight” in the case.
Trump has already openly criticized Bragg as well as the judge who will preside over his case. The former president said Merchan “hates me” and noted Merchan’s role in a previous case against Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization. Trump claimed Merchan “railroaded” Weisselberg into taking a plea agreement.