Although Thursday’s news that a New York City grand jury had indicted Donald Trump on criminal charges related to hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels dominates the headlines on Friday, and will likely continue to do so through the weekend, relatively little is publicly known. Like how many charges he faces and what exactly they are.
Trump is expected to turn himself in and be arraigned on Tuesday at Manhattan Criminal Court. His lawyer, Joe Tacopina, told NBC News that Trump plans to file “substantial legal challenges” to the indictment and that a plea deal was “not gonna happen.”
One of Trump’s advisers predicted that the process of Trump traveling to New York and turning himself in would be “O.J. Simpson on steroids.” If they really wanted to lean into that, they should get a white Bronco, but they might recall that while Simpson was acquitted on charges of murdering his wife and her friend, he ultimately spent almost nine years in prison for armed robbery and kidnapping.
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Trump was caught off guard by the news, The Washington Post reports, with some of his lawyers on the brink of taking some time off, expecting that any indictments would not come for weeks. Boris Epshteyn had even been telling Trump he probably wouldn’t be indicted, after all, which might cause a client to question Epshteyn’s legal assessments going forward. Speaking to the Post, an unnamed adviser described Trump’s mood as “irritated” and “deflated,” but Sen. Lindsey Graham claimed he was “upset and disappointed” but “very calm.” (Calm and deflated can look a lot alike.)
Trump’s fundraising team, however, was ready to go, with an email claiming, implausibly, a 1,500% match on contributions. And Trump’s base will likely respond financially, giving Trump a boost right at the end of the fundraising quarter, as “Operatives close to the campaign” pointed out to Politico. Few Trump supporters turned out to scream and yell in the streets at news of the indictment, though, which won’t help his mood. Even outside Mar-a-Lago, where Trump supporters often gather, the Post found just about half a dozen of them on Thursday evening (and one anti-Trump protester). In lower Manhattan, meanwhile, “While there was a crowd in lower Manhattan that included protesters, much of the people seen there on Thursday were journalists,” NBC News New York reported. “Any protesters that did show up said they were there to celebrate the news.”
The willingness of Trump’s supporters to go out and wreak havoc for him could show up at any time, and law enforcement in New York is ready for that. But it’s not the display of devotion he was probably looking for and expecting.
The New York indictments, whatever they turn out to be, are not the only legal trouble Trump faces. Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis has been investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and could indict Trump on charges related to that. Special counsel Jack Smith is investigating Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election nationally, including on Jan. 6, as well as his classified document stash at Mar-a-Lago and obstruction of government efforts to get those documents back. And New York Attorney General Letitia James has a $250 million civil suit against Trump, his adult children, and his company. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is first past the post with criminal charges, though.
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