Former US President Donald Trump has been slapped with 34 felony counts in a shocking indictment that unsealed on Tuesday. The charges are related to a hush money payment made by his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, during the 2016 presidential campaign.
According to CNN, which obtained the full text of the indictment and statement of facts, the charges stem from allegations that Trump directed Cohen to make payments of up to $500,000 to two women who claimed to have had affairs with him. The payments were allegedly made in exchange for their silence on social media.
The document cloud posted by CNN includes both the unsealed indictment and statement of facts, which detail how prosecutors believe Trump's actions violated campaign finance laws. In essence, they claim that Trump breached his campaign's financial disclosure rules by directing Cohen to pay hush money to these women without publicly disclosing the payments.
Trump's lawyers have maintained that their client did nothing wrong in connection with the hush money payments, and that the indictment is part of a larger "witch hunt" against him. However, the unsealing of this latest document suggests that prosecutors may be taking steps to demonstrate that Trump's actions constituted a serious campaign finance law violation.
As news of the charges broke, social media erupted with comments from Trump supporters and detractors alike. The full impact of these charges on Trump's ongoing presidential aspirations remains unclear, but one thing is certain: this latest development marks another significant escalation in the long-running saga surrounding Trump's involvement with Russian officials during his 2016 campaign.
According to CNN, which obtained the full text of the indictment and statement of facts, the charges stem from allegations that Trump directed Cohen to make payments of up to $500,000 to two women who claimed to have had affairs with him. The payments were allegedly made in exchange for their silence on social media.
The document cloud posted by CNN includes both the unsealed indictment and statement of facts, which detail how prosecutors believe Trump's actions violated campaign finance laws. In essence, they claim that Trump breached his campaign's financial disclosure rules by directing Cohen to pay hush money to these women without publicly disclosing the payments.
Trump's lawyers have maintained that their client did nothing wrong in connection with the hush money payments, and that the indictment is part of a larger "witch hunt" against him. However, the unsealing of this latest document suggests that prosecutors may be taking steps to demonstrate that Trump's actions constituted a serious campaign finance law violation.
As news of the charges broke, social media erupted with comments from Trump supporters and detractors alike. The full impact of these charges on Trump's ongoing presidential aspirations remains unclear, but one thing is certain: this latest development marks another significant escalation in the long-running saga surrounding Trump's involvement with Russian officials during his 2016 campaign.
! The whole "witch hunt" thing he and his lawyers have been spewing is just laughable. I mean, who tries to pay someone $500k to shut up about an affair? 
And now these 34 felony charges are a total game-changer. It's like the prosecutors finally got their hands on some solid evidence. Trump's campaign finance law violation is no joke – it's a serious breach of trust and basically, he's trying to buy influence 
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. This is a big deal, folks – the entire thing. Even if Trump's supporters try to spin it as some kind of "deep state" conspiracy, we all know what's really going on here 
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. I mean, who makes hush money payments to two women and tries to keep it on the down low without disclosing it publicly? Sounds like a normal Tuesday to me 
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. We can't just let politicians like Trump get away with whatever they want without consequences. It's time for some serious oversight and scrutiny 
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. I'm not sure what to make of it all anymore. On one hand, like, Trump has definitely been a divisive figure for years and this kind of thing can be expected from him. But at the same time, 34 felony counts is a lot 
. It's all just so... complicated 
This looks like real deal to me. The fact that it was unsealed and everything... it's like the prosecutors are trying to show us something. And social media is going wild with comments from both sides. It's like, can't we all just take a deep breath and see what happens next? 
. And what really gets me is that it feels like every time Trump tries to shake this off, something else pops up 
. I'm just wondering when the truth will finally come out, you know? It's been ages since we've seen some real justice served 
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This is getting intense... I'm not surprised though, Trump's been saying some crazy stuff for years and people just can't seem to stay mad at him 
I don't get why people still believe in him though 
. Hasn't he done enough shady stuff already? 
. Fingers crossed justice will be served 
Give me a break! I mean, if there was even a hint of wrongdoing, shouldn't the courts be able to tell? 
and now the indictment is out. let's see how this plays out on social media 
like what did he do now? everyone knew he was shady but I guess this is taking it to a whole new level 
i mean trump's lawyers keep saying he didn't do nothing wrong but like, isn't that what they said about all those other stuff too? 
. But at the same time, like, isn't it weird that the indictment is so focused on hush money payments? Can't we be talking about something more substantial than just some dude trying to keep a secret 
? And don't even get me started on Trump's lawyers saying he did nothing wrong... I mean, are they seriously going to try to spin this as a "witch hunt" again? 
i mean idk about the details but it sounds like super serious stuff to me... if its true that he breached campaign finance laws by keeping those payments private, that's a big no-no