Donald Trump, as per multiple reports, has been indicted in the 2016 Stormy Daniels hush money case on Thursday.
The vote by the Manhattan grand jury raises questions about the Republican’s bid to run for the 2024 Presidential elections. An indictment or conviction would not bar Trump from running as a clean criminal record is not among the criteria the Constitution sets for who is eligible to be president.
Trump is the first sitting or former US president to face criminal charges, which will undoubtedly have political and legal ramifications.
While Trump has repeatedly denied having an affair with Daniels, his lawyer Michael Cohen alleged that he paid her $130,000 in hush money just before the 2016 election, which was later reimbursed by the Trump Organization as legal expenses. Cohen has been a witness against Trump, leading to his conviction in 2018 and a three-year prison sentence.
The recent indictment by the grand jury investigating the matter has raised questions about whether Trump will still run for president in 2024. Some Republicans have already called for him to drop out of the race if he is indicted, while others have expressed support for him.
The charges also come at a time when Trump is facing multiple criminal probes, including a federal investigation into his efforts to interfere with the 2020 election results and his handling of classified materials. The investigation by the Fulton County District Attorney’s office in Georgia into whether his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results there violated state law is also ongoing.
It is worth noting that Trump has repeatedly cast himself as a victim of overzealous investigators and media, and his legal team has claimed that he was “the victim of extortion” from Daniels. However, the recent indictment is likely to add to the growing list of legal challenges he faces and could impact his political future.
This remains to be seen how the charges will affect his 2024 presidential campaign, but they are likely to make it more challenging for him to garner support from voters and GOP leaders. As the legal challenges continue to mount, it remains to be seen what the future holds for the former president.
