Former US President Donald Trump has been indicted on criminal charges in a hush money payment case. This is of historic importance as no former US president has been criminally charged before. The charges come at the midst of Trump’s plan to run again in 2023. 

A New York Grand Jury voted to indict Trump after investigating hush money payments to “adult film actress” Stormy Daniels. These payments became public after he was elected in 2016. When an individual is indicted, they are given formal notice that it is believed that they committed a crime. It contains basic information that informs the person of the charges against them. 

The grand jury voted to charge Trump after months of evidence concerning the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election. FBI documents were released back in 2019 on the order of US District Judge William Pauley in New York. They provided the most extensive account to date of what appears to be then-candidate Trump’s personal involvement in the scheme to pay $130,000 to porn actress Stormy Daniels to head off a scandal. Trump denied any allegations and mentioned that this was part of an agenda against his future plans to run again for president. The former president also accused the Democrat who conducted the probe, Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, of trying to hurt his electoral chances.

A court hearing is scheduled this coming Tuesday where more details behind the indictment as well as a formal charge will be revealed. Trump’s attorney Joe Tacopina told CNN’s State of the Union show on Sunday that many of the particulars of the arraignment set for Tuesday were still “very much up in the air” besides the fact that the ex-president would “very loud and proudly say not guilty.” Tocopina also defended Trump mentioning that the payment was a “personal expenditure, not a campaign expenditure”  

Following Trump’s allegations against Alvin Bragg, many other Republicans began to attack Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy tweeted this past Thursday that Bragg “routinely frees violent criminals to terrorize the public, he weaponized our sacred system of justice against President Donald Trump.” The Democrats were quick to celebrate the indictment, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi ironically tweeting “no one is above the law.”

While Democrats were quick to celebrate, they too are riddled with a long legacy of sexual allegations. This suggests that US political system upholds sexual predators and war criminals regardless of party affiliation.