Former US President Donald Trump has been hit with a slew of felony charges, totaling 34 counts, in an indictment unsealed on Tuesday. The charges relate to a hush money payment made during his presidency.
According to the indictment, Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen arranged for payments to be made to two women who claimed they had affairs with Trump: Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal. One of these payments was allegedly made in exchange for her silence about an alleged tryst with Trump before the 2016 election.
The indictment alleges that Trump was aware of the payment scheme and authorized Cohen to make the payments, despite publicly denying any knowledge of them during his presidency. The prosecutors argue that this amounts to obstruction of justice, among other charges.
One key figure in the case is Rudy Giuliani, who served as Trump's lawyer at the time of the alleged hush money payments. Giuliani is accused of conspiring with Cohen and other individuals to cover up the scheme and conceal its connection to Trump.
Trump has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and maintains that he was not involved in the payment scheme. However, the indictment presents a damning picture of his involvement and willingness to do whatever it took to maintain his presidential image.
The 34 charges against Trump include counts of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, making false statements on tax returns, and violating campaign finance laws. The maximum sentence for each charge could amount to decades in prison.
It remains to be seen how Trump will respond to the indictment, whether he will contest all or some of the charges, and what this means for his future in politics.
According to the indictment, Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen arranged for payments to be made to two women who claimed they had affairs with Trump: Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal. One of these payments was allegedly made in exchange for her silence about an alleged tryst with Trump before the 2016 election.
The indictment alleges that Trump was aware of the payment scheme and authorized Cohen to make the payments, despite publicly denying any knowledge of them during his presidency. The prosecutors argue that this amounts to obstruction of justice, among other charges.
One key figure in the case is Rudy Giuliani, who served as Trump's lawyer at the time of the alleged hush money payments. Giuliani is accused of conspiring with Cohen and other individuals to cover up the scheme and conceal its connection to Trump.
Trump has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and maintains that he was not involved in the payment scheme. However, the indictment presents a damning picture of his involvement and willingness to do whatever it took to maintain his presidential image.
The 34 charges against Trump include counts of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, making false statements on tax returns, and violating campaign finance laws. The maximum sentence for each charge could amount to decades in prison.
It remains to be seen how Trump will respond to the indictment, whether he will contest all or some of the charges, and what this means for his future in politics.
... I mean, it's about time someone held him accountable for his actions. But come on, 34 counts? That's a lot of egg on his face 
. I just hope he doesn't try to spin this into another one of his rallies and convince the folks that the system is rigged against him 
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. Trump might have gotten away with some shady stuff during his presidency, but it looks like justice is finally catching up to him 
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. It's crazy that it took this long for Trump to get hit with felony charges over something as shady as a hush money payment. I mean, we all knew he was up to no good back in the day, but you'd think someone would've come forward by now 
. The fact that Giuliani is involved too makes me think there's more to this story than meets the eye 
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. The thought of someone as powerful as Trump trying to silence women and cover up alleged wrongdoing is just unacceptable 
. It's amazing that his own lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, is now in hot water over this 
. The thought of him possibly facing decades in prison is a sobering one 
. Fingers crossed that justice will be served and accountability will be key 
!
34 felony charges is like 3x as many as I thought were coming 
. I mean, if Trump didn't know about it, then why did he tweet about it like 5 times 
? 
️. Can you believe that? And Trump's team is saying it was just a " routine payment" 
. I guess we'll see how Trump's team plays this out in court 
.
According to the indictment, there are 13 charges related to obstruction of justice 
. That's a 25% increase from last year 
anyway, the charges are pretty serious, like decades in prison serious. i hope he sees sense and takes a plea deal or something before things get really ugly. we'll have to wait and see how this all plays out
like can you even believe that trump's involved in a hush money scheme? 
idk how much more scandalous things can get for this guy, but i guess we'll just have to wait and see how he responds to the indictment. 
. anyway, i hope trump gets what's coming to him, justice should be served 
The fact that a former personal lawyer like Michael Cohen was able to set up these payment schemes without Trump directly being involved is mind-blowing. But at the same time, it's hard not to think that Trump knew exactly what was going on and just went along with it. I mean, he denied any knowledge of the payments back then, but now it seems like we're seeing a whole different story unfold. The thought of Giuliani covering for him too is wild... this case has all the makings of a massive scandal. Can't wait to see how Trump responds and what this means for his future in politics! 
This is just what we needed more drama in our lives. I mean who doesn't love a good scandal right? But seriously, 34 felony charges? That's a whole lot of trouble. I'm not surprised though, Trump's been playing with fire since day one. 
I'm not holding my breath for Trump to take responsibility for his actions or apologize for anything. He'll probably spin this as a witch hunt or try to blame someone else. Mark my words, this is just the beginning of a long and ugly saga. 
The fact remains that Trump's involvement in the alleged hush money payment scheme is hard to deny, and his attempt to distance himself from it now seems like a case of too little, too late 
. As we move forward, it will be interesting to see how this plays out and what it means for his future in politics 
. Can't wait to see how this whole thing plays out 
. It's pretty clear to anyone with half a brain that he knew what was going down and authorized those payments. The obstruction of justice charge is the biggest one, imo - like, if anyone thought Trump wasn't trying to hide something, they must be blind.
. And let's be real, Rudy Giuliani was always the wild card in this situation. I knew he was dodgy from day one 
. But at the end of the day, this is all on him. He's the one who signed off on those payments, and he's the one who will have to face the consequences 
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. the whole thing just seems so corrupt and messy... Giuliani's role in all this is wild too - like, who conspires with their own lawyer? 
. anyway, i'm keeping an eye on how trump handles this and what it means for the future of politics. hopefully we'll see some real change