Former US President Donald Trump Indicted
2023-04-01
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1A grand jury in New York State indicted Donald J. Trump Thursday night, making him the first former American president to be charged with a crime.
2An indictment is a legal accusation that a person has done a crime.
3In this case, a grand jury in New York City voted to indict Trump after hearing evidence presented by the Manhattan district attorney's office.
4The evidence was related to reported wrongdoings during Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.
5The indictment comes as Trump faces other legal investigations while launching a third presidential campaign for 2024.
6Trump denied any wrongdoing and called the investigations political "witch hunts" to damage his campaign.
7For several months, the grand jury heard evidence about Trump.
8The details of the charge or charges against him are unknown.
9However, the investigation has centered on a $130,000 payment made in 2016 to adult movie actress Stormy Daniels.
10Michael Cohen, Trump's former lawyer, was one of the witnesses before the grand jury.
11Cohen has said that he made the payment to Daniels to keep her from telling in public about a sexual relationship she said she had with Trump years earlier.
12Cohen also said Trump's business called the Trump Organization repaid the money with Trump's knowledge and claimed them as legal expenses.
13Trump first denied knowing anything about the payment.
14After records of the payment came out, Trump described it as a "simple private transaction."
15Cohen also said he arranged for another woman, former adult magazine model Karen McDougal, to be paid $150,000, to suppress a story similar to Daniels.
16Former National Enquirer newspaper publisher David Pecker was another witness before the grand jury.
17He had earlier said that payments were made to suppress stories that could hurt Trump's 2016 campaign.
18In 2018, Cohen admitted guilt to several federal criminal charges, including campaign finance violations, and later served more than a year in prison.
19Federal prosecutors said at the time that the payments amounted to illegal, unreported assistance to Trump's campaign.
20 They said Cohen had acted at Trump's direction.
21Trump was also invited to appear before the New York City grand jury, but he chose not to.
22It is unclear what the charges are against Trump since the indictment has not been made public.
23But CNN reported on Thursday that the former president faced more than 30 charges related to business fraud.
24Some legal experts have said they believe Trump could be charged with falsifying business records.
25Under New York State's law, that can be a misdemeanor charge or a felony charge.
26A felony is more serious and carries a higher penalty.
27To get a conviction on the felony charge, Manhattan prosecutors would have to prove that records were falsified to do or hide a second crime.
28It is not clear what prosecutors may declare as the second crime.
29One possibility is a violation of federal campaign finance law.
30Joe Tacopina is currently representing Trump.
31He said Trump did no crime and accused prosecutors of "distorting laws" for political reasons.
32He said Trump paid the money because the reports were going to be embarrassing to him "regardless of the campaign."
33Many members of Trump's Republican Party have come to his defense.
34But Democratic Party members are urging to let the legal system move ahead.
35Nikki Haley, Trump's former ambassador to the United Nations, said of the indictment, "This is more about revenge than it is justice."
36Haley has announced her candidacy for the 2024 presidential election.
37Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, wrote on Twitter, "The Grand Jury has acted upon the facts and the law. No one is above the law, and everyone has the right to a trial to prove innocence."
38In a statement, the Manhattan District Attorney's office said it has contacted Trump's lawyer to organize his surrender.
39Trump's lawyer Tacopina told NBC News that the former president is "likely" to turn himself in on Tuesday.
40As news of the indictment came out, Trump asked supporters to help with his legal defense.
41"Please make a contribution - of truly any amount - to defend our movement from the never-ending witch hunts and WIN the WHITE HOUSE in 2024," said an email sent by the Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee.
42The New York case is just one of many legal problems Trump is facing.
43The U.S. Justice Department is investigating the treatment of top-secret government documents when Trump left the White House in 2021.
44Federal investigators are also looking into Trump's possible responsibility in the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2020.
45In Georgia, the Fulton County District Attorney's office has been investigating whether Trump and his allies illegally interfered in the 2020 election.
46A person who served in that grand jury said last month that the body had suggested indictments to several people which could include Trump.
47I'm Anna Mateo. And I'm Gregory Stachel.
1A grand jury in New York State indicted Donald J. Trump Thursday night, making him the first former American president to be charged with a crime. 2An indictment is a legal accusation that a person has done a crime. In this case, a grand jury in New York City voted to indict Trump after hearing evidence presented by the Manhattan district attorney's office. The evidence was related to reported wrongdoings during Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. 3The indictment comes as Trump faces other legal investigations while launching a third presidential campaign for 2024. 4Trump denied any wrongdoing and called the investigations political "witch hunts" to damage his campaign. 5The background 6For several months, the grand jury heard evidence about Trump. The details of the charge or charges against him are unknown. However, the investigation has centered on a $130,000 payment made in 2016 to adult movie actress Stormy Daniels. 7Michael Cohen, Trump's former lawyer, was one of the witnesses before the grand jury. Cohen has said that he made the payment to Daniels to keep her from telling in public about a sexual relationship she said she had with Trump years earlier. 8Cohen also said Trump's business called the Trump Organization repaid the money with Trump's knowledge and claimed them as legal expenses. Trump first denied knowing anything about the payment. After records of the payment came out, Trump described it as a "simple private transaction." 9Cohen also said he arranged for another woman, former adult magazine model Karen McDougal, to be paid $150,000, to suppress a story similar to Daniels. 10Former National Enquirer newspaper publisher David Pecker was another witness before the grand jury. He had earlier said that payments were made to suppress stories that could hurt Trump's 2016 campaign. 11In 2018, Cohen admitted guilt to several federal criminal charges, including campaign finance violations, and later served more than a year in prison. Federal prosecutors said at the time that the payments amounted to illegal, unreported assistance to Trump's campaign. They said Cohen had acted at Trump's direction. 12Trump was also invited to appear before the New York City grand jury, but he chose not to. 13What are the charges against Trump? 14It is unclear what the charges are against Trump since the indictment has not been made public. But CNN reported on Thursday that the former president faced more than 30 charges related to business fraud. 15Some legal experts have said they believe Trump could be charged with falsifying business records. Under New York State's law, that can be a misdemeanor charge or a felony charge. A felony is more serious and carries a higher penalty. 16To get a conviction on the felony charge, Manhattan prosecutors would have to prove that records were falsified to do or hide a second crime. It is not clear what prosecutors may declare as the second crime. One possibility is a violation of federal campaign finance law. 17Reactions to the charges 18Joe Tacopina is currently representing Trump. He said Trump did no crime and accused prosecutors of "distorting laws" for political reasons. He said Trump paid the money because the reports were going to be embarrassing to him "regardless of the campaign." 19Many members of Trump's Republican Party have come to his defense. But Democratic Party members are urging to let the legal system move ahead. 20Nikki Haley, Trump's former ambassador to the United Nations, said of the indictment, "This is more about revenge than it is justice." Haley has announced her candidacy for the 2024 presidential election. 21Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, wrote on Twitter, "The Grand Jury has acted upon the facts and the law. No one is above the law, and everyone has the right to a trial to prove innocence." 22What happens next? 23In a statement, the Manhattan District Attorney's office said it has contacted Trump's lawyer to organize his surrender. 24Trump's lawyer Tacopina told NBC News that the former president is "likely" to turn himself in on Tuesday. 25As news of the indictment came out, Trump asked supporters to help with his legal defense. 26"Please make a contribution - of truly any amount - to defend our movement from the never-ending witch hunts and WIN the WHITE HOUSE in 2024," said an email sent by the Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee. 27The New York case is just one of many legal problems Trump is facing. 28The U.S. Justice Department is investigating the treatment of top-secret government documents when Trump left the White House in 2021. Federal investigators are also looking into Trump's possible responsibility in the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2020. 29In Georgia, the Fulton County District Attorney's office has been investigating whether Trump and his allies illegally interfered in the 2020 election. A person who served in that grand jury said last month that the body had suggested indictments to several people which could include Trump. 30I'm Anna Mateo. And I'm Gregory Stachel. 31Hai Do wrote this story for Learning English based on reporting from VOA News, The Associated Press and Reuters. 32_________________________________________________________________ 33Words in This Story 34arrange - v. to organize things in a particular order 35prosecutor - n. government lawyer in a court case that accuses a person of a crime and tries to prove that the person is guilty 36fraud - n. the crime of using dishonest methods to gain something 37conviction - n. the act of proving that a person is guilty in a court of law 38distort - v. to change something so that it is no long true or accurate 39embarrassing - adj. feeling confused and foolish