Explained | Why Trump can still fight election despite Stormy Daniels hush money case indictment

Former US President Donald Trump appeared at a New York court on April 4, days after he became the first ex-president to beindicted by ajury on charges of making hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels in return for her silence on an alleged brief affair.

Here's what the indictment of Trump means and what will happen next.

What did the grand jury do?

The grand jury in Manhattan, New York on Thursday (March 30) voted for the 76-year-old former Republican president's indictment, after an investigation which was led by Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat.

Shortly thereafter, the indictment was confirmed by Trump's lawyer Joe Tacopina. In the next few days, the sealed felony indictment will be unsealed.

Currently, the specific charges levied against Trump have not been made public. Trump's indictment is related to the hush-money payment which was made on his behalf to adult film actor Stormy Daniels in 2016, just before election day as Trump contested for president.

The grand jury, which has been holding meetings since January, indicted the former president after hearing testimony from various witnesses.

Among those who testified, Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen had admitted to having orchestrated the payment of $130,000 to silence Daniel over her alleged sexual encounter with the former president in 2006. The jury had invited Trump to testify in person but the former president declined.

Why was Donald Trump indicted?

Cohen, who has now turned into an outspoken foe of Trump, had testified before the grand jury about making a $130,000 payment to the porn star in October 2016. The payment was reimbursed to Cohen by Trump, who was then the country's president, with monthly $35,000 cheques which were sent from his personal account.

In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty in front of the jury to campaign finance charges which were related to the hush money payment. Court documents present in the federal case of Cohen said that the payments were falsely described by the Trump Organization as legal expenses in which they cited a legal retainer that did not exist.

In the Manhattan case, it has been effectively maintained by the prosecutors that how they imbursement was handled by Trump had violated state law.

What will happen next?

Trump wasarraignedon Tuesday, April 4. The former president will enter a plea and the court will set various dates for case proceedings.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is a potential rival of Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, stated that his state would "not assist in an extradition request".

Legal experts confirmed that any effort to fight extradition would only result in delay and that Trump will have to appear in front of the jury to face the charges.

Since now Trump has beenarraigned, a series of preliminary court hearings will be held to decide a date for a trial and finalise the evidence and witnesses. The defendant (Trump)can escape trial by entering into a plea agreement with prosecutors and accepting a lighter sentence. However, considering Trump's proclamations of innocence, it is highly unlikely that he will take this step.

WATCH | Donald Trump's possible indictment put on hold for more than two weeks

How can Trump still contest the presidential election?

Trump is free to, and undoubtedly will, pursue his 2024 presidential campaign even though he is facing criminal charges.

As per the Constitution, nothing can prevent a person from running for the presidency while they are facing charges, and even a conviction would not stop him from contesting for the highest office in the country.

The charges against Trump have only helped him in fundraising. The campaign stated that in just 24 hours after the announcement of an indictment, they were able to raise over $4 million, smashing its previous record which was made after the FBI searched for Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club.

Trump's team shared emails, filled with supportive comments from many top Republicans, some of whom have been supportive of Trump till the indictment. The prosecution was also slammed by those who are likely to compete with Trump in next year’s GOP primary contests. Former Vice President Mike Pence had termed the indictment “an outrage” and “nothing more than a political prosecution".

Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf said that Trump's diehard supporters wouldn’t particularly care about the allegations.

“With the people that love him most, it means nothing. With the rebels who are against the government on the right, it won’t matter. With his core constituency, it won’t matter at all. They will see this as an attack on their values because Trump represents their values,” Sheinkopf said.

The indictment will play into Trump’s nationalist dog-whistling, that white Americans are victimised. "He will use this … to make the case that these people in Manhattan, whoever ‘these people’ are, are interfering with his ability to ‘make America great again’ and to ‘take the country back’,” Sheinkopf added.

(With inputs from agencies)

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