After turning himself in to the police on Tuesday, former President Donald Trump was charged with 34 counts of felony. The New York Times said that he told Judge Juan Merchan of the New York Supreme Court that he was not guilty on all counts. Trump was eventually set free.
Scripps News hasn’t been able to confirm on its own how many criminal counts there are.
Merchan ruled on Monday that video cameras could not be brought into the court.
Through his lawyer Michael Cohen, the FBI was looking into whether Trump paid adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep quiet. The money was given out before the 2016 election for president.
Trump will go back to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Tuesday evening for a rally with his supporters.
Why and how Trump was charged
Alvin Bragg, the District Attorney of Manhattan, took proof to a grand jury. The grand jury was made up of 23 people who met behind closed doors.
At least 12 of the 23 grand jurors agreed that there was probable cause, which means it was likely but not certain that a crime had been done.
Grand jurors have to keep the proceedings quiet. Most of what has been said about Trump’s grand jury hearing has come from witnesses, who don’t have to keep quiet.
What’s the next step?
Trump could go to court in a few months or even more than a year.
Being charged is much easier than being convicted.
Even if there is reasonable doubt, grand jurors can still vote for an indictment if they think it is likely that a crime was committed.
No one knows if Trump’s case will be decided by a judge or a jury, but prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump committed a crime.
Michael Scotto, who used to be the head of the racketeering bureau for the Manhattan District Attorney, has said that the case against Trump is not a “slam-dunk.”
“I’m not being critical of the prosecution’s case, but there certainly are issues here that would cause a judge to take some time and review the evidence and the nature of the charges and the applicable law,” Scotto said. “If I had to say, we will not have this case go to trial for another year just on the basis of motions.”
