Donald Trump, the former US president, has become the first ex-POTUS to face criminal charges following his indictment by a New York grand jury over hush money payments made to a porn star during the 2016 election campaign.
Trump, who denies any wrongdoing in connection to the payments to Stormy Daniels, was to be arraigned on Tuesday next week, according to his lawyer Susan Necheles.
Trump condemned his indictment, labelling it as political persecution and election interference, while Republican Party figures and his family expressed support for him and criticised the charges.
Meanwhile, Democrats such as Adam Schiff as well as legal experts have said that these charges cannot be shrugged off as simply political of nature.
This comes as Trump is rumoured to be the front-runner to be the Republican nominee in the 2024 election, despite being investigated for three felony enquiries relating to the 2020 election and the Capitol riot of January 6, 2021.