There are multiple ongoing lawsuits against former US President Donald Trump, a controversial and divisive figure. Trump's presidency was dogged by legal troubles and he is the only US President to have been impeached twice.
He recently claimed he will be arrested today on charges stemming from an investigation into a USD 130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. A spokesperson later clarified they had not been notified about any coming indictment.
If charges are issued, it would be the first criminal case ever brought against a former US president.
According to Daniels, she met Trump for the first time at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe in 2006. She had contacted media outlets in 2016 offering to sell them the story of her alleged affair with Trump.
Trump's team got wind of this, and his lawyer Michael Cohen reportedly paid USD 130,000 to Daniels to keep quiet, which is not illegal in itself. However, records showed Trump reimbursing Cohen for this payment under the guise of paying legal fees. Prosecutors say this amounts to Trump falsifying business records, which is a misdemeanour – a criminal offence – in New York.
Prosecutors could also potentially allege that this breaks election law, because his attempt to hide his payments to Daniels was motivated by not wanting voters to know about his cheating.
New York City District Attorney Alvin Bragg will be the one deciding whether to charge Trump. Last week, Trump's lawyers said that the former president was offered a chance to appear before the grand jury empanelled for the case, which is considered a sign that the investigation is close to finishing.
In her 2018 tell-all book 'Full Disclosure', Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, recounted that encounter.
Daniels wrote that one of Trump's bodyguards invited her to have dinner with 'The Apprentice' host in his penthouse. They proceeded to have what "may have been the least impressive sex I'd ever had," she wrote in an account that also includes an unflattering description of Trump's anatomy.
Trump has denied they ever had sex and has accused Daniels of "extortion" and a "total con job."