The Teflon Don is facing his biggest test. After years of investigations and probes into Donald Trump for a wide variety of alleged crimes, a Manhattan grand jury voted Thursday to indict him, marking the first time in U.S. history a former president will face criminal charges.
The indictment has yet to be unsealed so the specifics of the charges weren’t immediately clear, but the Manhattan district attorney has alleged that Trump had broken the law for his role in a hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels at the height of the 2016 presidential election to silence her story claiming they once had an affair. Despite years of various investigations, Trump had so far avoided prosecution. The New York Times was first to report the indictment, which was confirmed by Trump’s lawyers, Joe Tacopina and Susan Necheles, late Thursday. “President Trump has been indicted,” they said in a statement. “He did not commit any crime. We will vigorously fight this this political prosecution in court.” In his own statement, Trump called the indictment “political persecution and election interference at the highest level,” and accused Democrats of “cheating” and “weaponizing our justice system.” In an emailed statement Thursday, a spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs said arrangements are being made for Trump’s surrender: “This evening we contacted …