A judge has authorized the Manhattan district attorney to disclose to the public that the grand jury has returned an indictment in the case of former President Donald Trump, according to a court document.
The former US president was indicted for a $130,000 hush payment to porn star Stormy Daniels which was intended to buy her silence about the encounter she says they had years before Trump was elected president.
Trump's vice president, Mike Pence, said on Friday that the indictment sends a "terrible message" to the world about American justice and will encourage dictators to abuse power.
The White House stated that President Joe Biden only learned about Trump's indictment through news reports, and told reporters that he had "no comment" on his predecessor's indictment on Friday morning.
Criminal charges
The prosecutor who got Trump indicted is the New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg in the the first criminal charges ever brought against a former US president.
Trump will reportedly not be in handcuffs when present in New York next week to face criminal charges, according to his defense lawyer Joe Tacopina.