Judge Jeanine on Trump indictment: This is a sad day for America
Fox News host Judge Jeanine Pirro says the Trump indictment is 'hate like we've never seen' on 'Jesse Watters Primetime.'
Former President Trump said Thursday that he "cannot get a fair trial in New York," after being indicted by a grand jury following the years-long investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
TRUMP INDICTMENT: LIVE UPDATES
The Manhattan grand jury issued an unprecedented indictment of a former president of the United States and leading Republican presidential candidate of the 2024 cycle.
"They only brought this Fake, Corrupt, and Disgraceful Charge against me because I stand with the American People, and they know I cannot get a fair trial in New York!" Trump posted on his TRUTH Social Thursday night.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has been investigating Trump for hush money payments made leading up to the 2016 presidential election.
These include the $130,000 payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, and the $150,000 payment made to former Playboy model Karen McDougal, Fox News Digital has learned.
Hush money payments made to both McDougal and Daniels were revealed and reported by Fox News in 2018. Those payments had been investigated by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York and by the Federal Election Commission.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at the Waco Regional Airport ( (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images))
Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York opted out of charging Trump related to the Stormy Daniels payment in 2019, even as Cohen implicated him as part of his plea deal. The Federal Election Commission also tossed its investigation into the matter in 2021.
TRUMP INDICTED AFTER MANHATTAN DA PROBE FOR HUSH MONEY PAYMENTS
"This evening we contacted Mr. Trump’s attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan D.A.’s Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal," a spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney's Office said in a statement Thursday. "Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected."
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 06: Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg arrives to the courtroom during the Trump Organization tax fraud trial at the New York Supreme Court on December 06, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) ((Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images))
Trump slammed Bragg for his "obsession" with trying to "get Trump," after news of the indictment broke, while warning the move to charge a former president of the United States will "backfire."
"This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history," Trump said in a statement. "From the time I came down the golden escalator at Trump Tower, and even before I was sworn in as your President of the United States, the Radical Left Democrats- the enemy of the hard-working men and women of this Country- have been engaged in a Witch-Hunt to destroy the Make America Great Again movement."
"The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to ‘Get Trump,’ but now they’ve done the unthinkable—indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference," he said. "Never before in our Nation’s history has this been done."
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 21: A woman walks past Trump Tower after NYPD officers set up step barricades after a small crowd gathers on March 21, 2023 in New York City. NYC and other cities are bracing for a possible indictment of former President Donald Trump by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in his investigation into the former president's involvement in a hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 presidential election. (Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
Trump said Democrats are guilty of "weaponizing our justice system to punish a political opponent."
"I believe this Witch-Hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden," Trump said. "The American people realize exactly what the Radical Left Democrats are doing here. Everyone can see it."
The investigation into Trump was opened in 2019 by then-Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance. The probe was focused on possible bank, insurance and tax fraud. The case initially involved financial dealings of Trump’s Manhattan properties, including his flagship Fifth Avenue building, Trump Tower, and the valuation of his 213-acre estate Seven Springs in Westchester.
The investigation last year led to tax fraud charges against The Trump Organization, and its finance chief Allen Weisselberg.
Meanwhile, the charges against Trump come amid a separate, special counsel investigation into his alleged improper retention of classified records from his presidency at his Mar-a-Lago home.
Last August, the FBI, in an unprecedented move, raided Trump’s private residence at Mar-a-Lago in connection with an investigation into classified records the former president allegedly took with him from the White House.
Members of the media gather after former U.S. President Donald Trump's indictment by a Manhattan grand jury following a probe into hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels, in New York City, U.S., March 30, 2023. (REUTERS/Jeenah Moon)
Attorney General Merrick Garland later appointed Jack Smith as special counsel to take over that investigation, and the Justice Department’s investigation into the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021 — specifically whether Trump or other officials and entities interfered with the peaceful transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election, including the certification of the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6, 2021.
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President Biden is also currently under special counsel investigation for his alleged improper retention of classified records from the Obama administration. Former Vice President Pence also had classified records at his home—a matter under review by the Justice Department.
The charges against Trump also come while New York Attorney General Letitia James continues her years-long civil investigation into the Trump Organization to find out whether Trump and his company improperly inflated the value of assets on financial statements in order to obtain loans and tax benefits.
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