by WorldTribune Staff, April 2, 2023 Reality Check
Following the announcement that he will be indicted in Manhattan in the coming days, former President Donald Trump has surged in the polls and hauled in millions in campaign donations, much of it from first-time donors.
The indictment out of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office was filed under seal and contains at least one felony charge, according to reports. The nature of that charge has not been released.
The charges are expected to be unsealed in the coming days and at that time Bragg will have asked for Trump’s surrender in order to face arraignment.
Trump, currently in Florida, is expected to surrender on Tuesday.
Trump posted on Truth Social: “8 YEARS, 11,000,000 MILLION PAGES: NO ERRORS, NO AFFAIR, NO MISDEMEANOR, NO CRIME, NO CASE!
“THEY HAVE CLOSELY STUDIED 11,000,000 PAGES OF DOCUMENTS, FINANCIAL RECORDS, AND TAX RETURNS (SOME GOTTEN ILLEGALLY!), BILLIONS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF DEALS AND TRANSACTIONS, AND THEY’VE GOT NOTHING. AFTER 8 YEARS OF VARIOUS POLITICALLY MOTIVATED INVESTIGATIONS, HOAXES, SCAMS, AND WITCH HUNTS, THIS MUST MAKE ME THE MOST HONEST AND HONORABLE MAN ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. NOBODY IN HISTORY HAS EVER BEEN THROUGH THE SCRUTINY THAT I HAVE. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
Trump surged to a 26-point lead over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the latest Yahoo News/YouGov 2024 GOP presidential poll after news that Trump was indicted by a New York grand jury.
In the new poll, 57 percent of respondents chose Trump in a head-to-head hypothetical matchup against DeSantis, who received 31 percent support.
Trump surged ten points from the previous Yahoo News/YouGov survey taken less than two weeks ago. No other candidate outside of Trump and DeSantis received double digit support.
A Quinnipiac University Poll released Wednesday found more than 6 in 10 Americans think Bragg’s case against Trump “is mainly motivated by politics.”
Even Jeb Bush defended his 2016 rival, calling Bragg’s case against Trump “very political.”
“Bragg’s predecessor didn’t take up the case. The Justice Department didn’t take up the case. Bragg first said he would not take up the case,” Bush tweeted. “This is very political, not a matter of justice. In this case, let the jury be the voters.”
Trump’s fundraising efforts in the wake of the announcement of his indictment appear to have paid off, with his campaign raking in more than $4 million within 24 hours.
“This incredible surge of grassroots contributions confirms that the American people see the indictment of President Trump as a disgraceful weaponization of our justice system by a Soros-funded prosecutor,” the Trump campaign said in a press release on Friday.
The former president’s team also touted that more than 25 percent of contributions came from first-time donors, claiming it confirmed his status as “the clear frontrunner in the Republican primary.”
Trump and his Truth Social platform, meanwhile, could reap a $100 million windfall as a result of the indictment by Bragg’s office, the New York Post reported.
Shares of the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that was created to take Trump’s media company public soared by as much as 10% in pre-market trading on Friday.
The stock price of Digital World Acquisition Corp., which closed at $13.06 on Thursday, was trading as high as $14.44 during Friday’s session on Wall Street.
When DWAC and Trump Media and Technology Group eventually merge, the former president is in position to hold 73.3 million shares, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings cited by Forbes. At $13.06 a share, Trump’s stake is believed to be worth an estimated $957 million.
Bragg’s case against Trump claims he falsified business records and that his company accounted for $130,000 to be paid to Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, who allegedly acted as a passthrough in order to pass the hush money along to Daniels.
In a letter dated February 8, 2018 and released earlier this month, it stated that Cohen paid Daniels the $130,000 out of his own pocket. It is unclear if those funds were ever reimbursed by the Trump organization.
For Bragg to elevate the misdemeanor charge to the status of a felony he would have to attach an “intent to defraud” motive to the accusation and try to charge Trump with a violation of New York State election law. Under that move Bragg would have to say that the cash paid to Daniels served as an illegal donation to Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
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