Who are the key figures in the Donald Trump indictment?
Former President Donald Trump has been indicted. Here is a look at all the players in the case you need to be aware of.
Last Thursday, a grand jury in New York City voted to indict the Republican leader in the case related to a hush money payment made to Stephanie Clifford, better known by her stage name, Stormy Daniels.
Stormy Daniels AKA Stephanie Clifford
Ms. Clifford worked as an adult film star when she met Donald Trump at a golf tournament in Lake Tahoe in 2006. The two are alleged to have had an affair that continued for some time after their initial meeting, with Donald Trump, who was married at the time, promising to get Ms. Clifford a spot on ‘The Apprentice.’ Prosecutors argue that the hush money payment was covered up by the Trump campaign in 2016 to avoid the secret coming out, as it could have damaged his candidacy.
Michael Cohen: Donald Trump’s former lawyer
The information on the payment to Ms. Clifford became known to investigators thanks to the former personal attorney of Donald Trump, Michael Cohen. Cohen has cooperated with law enforcement in the investigation and was one of Donald Trump’s former employees to testify against him during the grand jury hearing that landed him an indictment.
Who brought the case against Donald Trump?
The case was brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who, upon announcing the indictment, said that his office had “contacted Mr. Trump’s attorney to coordinate” his arrangement, at which point the charges against Donald Trump will be made public.
The judge in the case
Already, Donald Trump is railing against Judge Juan Merchan, who NBC has reported is likely to oversee his arrangement. On his own social media platform, Truth Social, the former president said that Judge Merchan “HATES” him and that he was “hand-picked” by DA Bragg. Officials with the New York courts have confirmed that, like all other defendants, the judge was selected at random.
Members of the New York justice system who have worked with the judge have disregarded the comments made by Donald Trump and spoken publicly about his judicial record in presiding over challenging cases. A former judge, Barry Kamins, who now works as a defense lawyer, told NBC that he has known Judge Merchan for decades and that he “is well-known, even in difficult cases, to exhibit excellent temperament, integrity and a solid knowledge of the law.”
Who is representing Donald Trump?
Al Jazeera has speculated that Joseph Tacopina, a Brooklyn native, will serve as Donald Trump’s lawyer in the case. Tacopina’s client list is full of celebrities, which is, hopefully, a positive sign for the former president, considering his track record with lawyers. Looking at the deterioration of his relationships with Michael Cohen and Rudy Giuliani, he has not always had the best luck in selecting legal representation.