New York, March 3 (ZXS) -- On the evening of March 30, local time, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office in New York issued a statement saying that former US President Trump was indicted by a grand jury in Manhattan on the same day, and the office has contacted his lawyer on coordinating Trump's surrender.
The indictment against Trump is currently under seal and will be released in the coming days, the statement said. US media reported that Trump was charged with multiple criminal charges in the indictment, making him the first former president in US history to face criminal charges, and the first presidential candidate to face criminal charges.
According to CNN, citing people familiar with the matter, Trump faces more than 30 commercial fraud-related charges in the indictment, including allegedly paying "hush money" to "star" Daniels and falsifying records before the 2016 US election. Its defense lawyer, Takopina, said Trump could appear in court next week for trial.
On the same day, Trump himself issued a statement denying that he had wrongdoing, and said that the prosecution against him was "the highest level of political persecution and election interference in history" and would ultimately have a huge and counterproductive impact on incumbent President Joe Biden.
Previously, Trump had posted on social media that he expected to be indicted and arrested on March 3. Although this did not happen, in order to prevent Trump's prosecution from causing riots, the New York City Police Department ordered on the 21st to require 21,3 police officers in the city to wear uniforms and stand by. At present, all police officers in New York City are once again required to wear uniforms and stand by, while metal fences have been added around Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan and Criminal Court buildings in Lower Manhattan.
The Associated Press says hundreds of people are being detained by law enforcement in New York City every day, and Trump is expected to be one of them as early as next week. Being summoned for criminal questioning means fingerprinting, taking photos, answering basic questions such as name and birthday, and defendants are usually detained for at least a few hours. As for whether or not handcuffs are worn, much depends on the seriousness of the case and whether the accused voluntarily surrendered. For the former president, there was no precedent for everything.
Legal experts point out that falsifying business records is usually a misdemeanor under New York state law, but if the forgery in question proves to be intended to commit or cover up another crime, the misdemeanor may escalate to a felony, corresponding to a maximum penalty of 4 years in prison. (End)