The rebellious Republican billionaire is already portraying the charges as the work of Democrats and prosecutors waging "political persecution and election interference" to derail his presidential candidacy.Stormy hush money?
Late in the campaign, Trump lawyer Michael Cohen arranged a payment of $130,000 to Daniels in exchange for her pledge of confidentiality. An independent prosecutor, Jack Smith, will decide whether or not to charge anyone alleged to have "unlawfully interfered with the transfer of power" after the 2020 election or during certification by Congress of the results.
In explosive hearings separate from the Justice probe, lawmakers argued Trump knew he lost the election yet pressed fake claims of fraud. An FBI search of Trump's palatial Mar-a-Lago residence last August turned up classified documents taken when he left office in early 2021. The top prosecutor in Georgia's Fulton County, Fani Willis, has assembled a special grand jury that could see Trump facing conspiracy charges connected to election fraud and interference.