Historic indictments for former U.S. president loom

By Tashi McQueen,
AFRO Political Writer,
tmcqueen@afro.com

A grand jury is expected to indict former U.S. President Donald Trump in connection with payments made to quiet an adult film performer’s allegations of an affair. Trump is facing possible indictment under Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. If a jury finds cause, he would be the first former U.S. president to be indicted in U.S. history.

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) commented on Trump and the looming indictments at the National Newspaper Publishers Association’s (NNPA) State of the Black Press Luncheon on March 17.

“You know in America, nobody is above the law, not even the President,” said Thompson. “Over the next few weeks, our work will be crystalized with some indictments. We have shared a lot of our work with the special counsel.”

Micheal Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, gave “hush money” to Stormy Daniels, one of two adult film stars alleging affairs with the soon-to-be president at the time, just before the 2016 election.

In 2018, according to information released by the Department of Justice, Cohen pleaded guilty to multiple charges after he “caused $280,000 in payments to be made to silence two women who otherwise planned to speak publicly about their alleged affairs with a presidential candidate, thereby intending to influence the 2016 presidential election.”

Bragg said in April 2022 that he was ready to take on the former president.

“Litigation involving the former president himself is not foreign to me. As the chief deputy at the New York State Attorney General’s Office, I oversaw the successful litigation against the former president, his family and the Trump Foundation,” said Bragg, in a statement.

According to a March 18 post by the former president on his social media platform, Truth Social, the “former president of the United States of America, will be arrested on Tuesday…”

True to form, Trump once again used social media to incite action, telling his supporters to “protest, take our nation back!” in the post, should his suspicions about March 21 prove true.

Trump’s claims have not yet been confirmed, but New York-based news organizations are reporting increased security near the Manhattan courthouse where the case is reportedly ongoing.

Bragg has confirmed in the past that his team will publicly announce the conclusion of their investigation and decide to let the case go or move forward with an indictment.

The AFRO asked for comment from the New York Police Department about increased protection regarding a possible Trump indictment on March 21.

“The NYPD’s state of readiness remains a constant at all times, for all contingencies. Our communications and coordination with our partners in government and in law enforcement are fundamental tenets of our commitment to public safety,” said a public information spokesperson.

Tashi McQueen is a Report For America Corps Member.

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https://benniethompson.house.gov/