Lawyer: Trump indicted; 1st ex-president charged with crime

A lawyer for Donald Trump said Thursday he’s been told that the former president has been indicted in New York on charges involving payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter.

FILE – Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2023, March 4, 2023, at National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Md. Trump said in a social media post that he expects to be arrested Tuesday as a New York prosecutor is eyeing charges in a case examining hush money paid to women who alleged sexual encounters with the former president. Trump provided no evidence that suggested he was directly informed of a pending arrest and did not say how he knew of such plans. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

It becomes the first ever criminal case against a former U.S. president and a jolt to Trump’s bid to retake the White House in 2024.

The grand jury indictment of Trump, 76, is an extraordinary development after years of investigations into his business, political and personal dealings. It is likely to galvanize critics who say Trump lied and cheated his way to the top and embolden supporters who feel the Republican is being unfairly targeted by a Democratic prosecutor.

You can find more national news here.