Did Donald Trump get arrested?
3 April 2023, 10:28
Former US President Donald Trump has officially been indicted but what does that mean? And what charges is he facing?
Donald Trump took to his social media account Truth Social in March and claimed he would be arrested.
And now, the former US President has officially been indicted - meaning a formal charge has been brought against him - as they continue to investigate certain payments he made during his presidential campaign to silence affair reports.
Read more: Wouldn't it be ironic if the indictment actually strengthens Donald Trump, writes Jon Sopel
What has Donald Trump been charged with?
Donald Trump has been indicted after a further investigation surrounding the payment elements from his Stormy Daniels scandal back in 2016.
The charges have been filed under seal and will be announced soon but they are not publicly known at this time.
At the time, Ms Daniels was offering to sell her account of an adulterous affair she had with Mr Trump but was soon kept quiet when his lawyer Michael Cohen paid her $130,000 (£106,000) to keep quiet.
While this act in itself is not illegal, when Trump paid back his lawyer the sum he paid Stormy, he cited it as 'legal fees' which prosecutors can see as an attempt to hide his payment to Ms Daniels. This can also be interpreted as falsifying business records which is a criminal offence in New York.
There is also an argument that this breaks election law as Donald Trump did not want voters to know he had an affair. If it is found that he covered up a crime by falsifying records, this is a much more serious charge.
Donald Trump said on the matter: "Now illegal leaks from a corrupt & highly political Manhattan district attorneys office, which has allowed new records to be set in violent crime & whose leader is funded by George Soros, indicate that, with no crime being able to be proven, & based on an old & fully debunked (by numerous other prosecutors!) fairytale, the far & away leading republican candidate & former president of the united states of America, will be arrested on Tuesday of next week.
"Protest, take our nation back!"
Trump could be indicted by jury as soon as this week over hush money payments
Is Donald Trump going to court?
Mr Trump is expected in court in New York on Tuesday, April 4th and will return to Florida straight after.
He is expected to hand himself over with his hearing taking place at 14:15 (19:15 BST) in Manhattan.
It's likely he will be escorted by members of the US Secret Service on his way to New York.
New York police department have also reportedly intensified security measurements in preparation for protests.
What has Donald Trump said about the charges?
Trump has continued to deny the charges and his lawyer has insisted they will fight all claims "vigorously".
Lawyer, Joe Tacopina said on ABC's This Week programme: "He's someone who's going to be ready for this fight. And I look forward to moving this thing along as quickly as possible to exonerate him."
