Donald Trump Indicted Over Alleged "Hush Money" Paid to Pornstar Stormy Daniels, Says New York Times

Donald Trump has been indicted in New York, over an alleged "hush money" payment made to the adult film star Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 election. The New York Times broke the story on Thursday, March 30th 2023

Trump wants to be handcuffed for court appearance in Stormy Daniels case, sources say. The paper cited four people with knowledge of the matter.

No former US president has ever been criminally indicted. The news is set to shake the race for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, in which Trump leads most polls.

Trump also faces legal jeopardy over his election subversion and incitement of the January 6 attack on Congress; his attempts to overturn the 2020 result in Georgia; his retention of classified records; his business dealings; and a defamation suit arising from an allegation of rape by the writer E Jean Carroll, which Trump denies.

Daniels claims an affair with Trump in 2006. Trump denies the affair but has admitted directing his then lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, to pay Daniels $130,000 for her silence.

Cohen was also revealed to have arranged for $150,000 to be paid to Karen McDougal, a Playboy model who claimed to have an affair with Trump.

That payment was made by David Pecker, the publisher of the National Enquirer tabloid newspaper, which squashed the story.