Former President Donald Trump has said he fears he will be arrested in connection with the $130,000 payment he made to porn star Stormy Daniels on March 21, 2016.
New York City District Attorney Alvin Bragg will decide what happens in the case, but if the provisions are brought against Trump, he would be the first former president to do so.
Trump has denied these allegations.
Here are the details we know about the case so far.
Who is Stormy Daniels?
Daniels real name is Stephanie Clifford and she was born in 1979 in Louisiana. She entered the porn industry first as a performer, after which she also started directing and writing in the year 2004.
His pseudonym is actually derived from Storm, the daughter of Nicky Six, bassist of the music band Motley Crue, and Jack Daniels, the popular American liquor. The wine is ‘very popular in South America’ and Clifford chose the name because he is from South America himself.
You may remember her from movies like ’40 Year Old Virgin’ and ‘Knocked Up’ and in the music video for Maroon Five’s song Wake Up Call.
He considered running for the US Senate from Louisiana, but decided against it because he felt no one was taking him seriously.
What do they have to do with the allegations against Trump?
To find the answer to this question, we have to go back to the year 2006 when reaching the White House was a dream in the eyes of Donald Trump. Daniels says she first met Donald Trump in July 2006 at a charity golf tournament. The tournament was held on a golf course near Lake Tahoe, which is located between California and Nevada.
In a 2011 interview with In Touch Weekly, published in its entirety in January 2018, Daniels says that Trump invited her to dinner and then went to his hotel room.
He said in the interview that he was lying on his couch and watching TV. He was wearing pajama pants.
Daniels claims the two had sex in that hotel room, a claim Trump’s lawyer says he “vehemently denies.”
If Daniels’ claim is true, this all happened four months after the birth of Trump’s youngest son, Barron.
In a TV interview that aired in March 2018, Daniels said she had been threatened not to talk about the affair.
In 2011, he claimed that a man approached him in a car park in Las Vegas and told him to “stop chasing Trump” shortly after he gave an interview to In Touch Weekly.
Why is this story resurfaced?
However, an article published in the Wall Street Journal in January 2018 claimed that President Trump’s lawyer at the time, Michael Cohen, paid Daniels $130,000 a month before the presidential election in October 2016. was given This election was won by President Trump. According to the article, this was done after Daniels allegedly tried to sell the story of the affair to the National Enquirer.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the money was part of a deal with Daniels that barred him from talking about it publicly.
What was illegal about it?
In this context, payment of money was not illegal. However, when Trump gave the money to Cohen, he noted on the record that it was for attorney’s fees. Lawyers in New York argue that this amounts to Trump making false statements in business records, which is a felony in the state.
Lawyers could also possibly argue that this also violated election laws because her concealment of the payment to Daniels was an attempt to hide the affair from her constituents.
Making false statements in records to cover up a crime can amount to fraud, which is a more serious crime.
Will Trump really be indicted?
The decision in this regard is in the hands of New York City District Attorney Alvin Bragg. They have empaneled a grand jury to see if there is evidence to investigate and at this point only they can say if and when an indictment will be filed.
President Trump’s lawyers said last week that the former president had been granted a deadline to appeal to a grand jury, signaling that the investigation was in its final stages.
It was said by President Trump a few days ago that he could be arrested on Tuesday, but according to his lawyers, he was not informed of any such date and it was said by President Trump based on media reports. .
Michael Cohen was convicted in 2018 after he pleaded guilty in federal court to campaign finance violations when he tried to silence Daniels and other women. So he sent money to them. This was done during Trump’s election campaign in 2016.
Cohen was expected to file a response on March 20, with Trump’s legal team likely to bring in Robert Costello.
Stormy Daniels has met with lawyers involved in the case.
Why is this case important?
President Trump’s supporters, especially those with religious leanings, have ignored his past behavior and the accusations leveled against him by women.
However, in the Stormy Daniels scandal, Trump may be called to record a statement in court. That will help bring more attention to the case at a time when Trump has expressed his desire to run for president again.
According to BBC North America’s Anthony Zircher, he will be able to continue his presidential campaign even if he is indicted or found guilty.
U.S. law does not bar a candidate from running for president or running for president based on a conviction or even prison sentence.
However, the arrest of President Trump will definitely complicate this presidential campaign.
This article is based on information from Toby Calhurst, Anthony Zurcher and Mattia Baballo.
