Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury after a probe into hush money paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels, becoming the first former US president to face criminal charges even as he makes another run for the White House.
The charges from an investigation led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg come as Mr Trump seeks the Republican nomination to run again in 2024.
The specific charges are not yet known, as the indictment remains under seal. CNN reported Donald Trump faces more than 30 counts related to business fraud.
Mr Trump said he was "completely innocent" and indicated he would not drop out of the race. He accused Mr Bragg, a Democrat, of trying to hurt his chances of winning re-election.
"This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history," he said in a statement.
Shortly after, Mr Trump appealed to supporters to provide money for a legal defence.
He has raised over $2m, according to his campaign, since he incorrectly predicted on 18 March that he would be arrested four days later.
The charges will likely be unsealed by a judge in the coming days. Donald Trump will have to travel to Manhattan for fingerprinting and other processing at that point.
Mr Bragg's office said it had contacted Donald Trump's attorney to coordinate a surrender, which a court official said would likely occur next Tuesday.
Mr Trump's lawyers Susan Necheles and Joseph Tacopina said they will "vigorously fight" the charges.
The Manhattan investigation is one of several legal challenges facing Mr Trump.
The unprecedented indictment of a former President of the United States on a campaign finance issue is an outrage and appears to millions of Americans to be nothing more than a political prosecution. pic.twitter.com/LlYfpTxp6V
— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) March 31, 2023
The charges could hurt his presidential comeback attempt, as the mug shot from his arraignment and any visuals from his courtroom appearances could provide fodder for rivals.
Mr Trump could use the case to stoke anger among his core supporters, though other Republican voters might tire of the drama.
Some 44% of Republicans said he should drop out of the race if he is indicted, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released last week.
His allies and fellow Republicans blasted the indictment as politically motivated, while Democrats said he is not immune from the rule of law.
The White House declined to comment.
Outside the courthouse, several protesters silently held signs criticising Donald Trump.
Authorities bolstered security around the courthouse after Mr Trump called for nationwide protests on 18 March, recalling his charged rhetoric ahead of the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.
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Ms Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has said she received money in exchange for keeping silent about a sexual encounter she had with Trump in 2006.
The former president's personal lawyer Michael Cohen has said he coordinated with Mr Trump on the payments to Ms Daniels and to a second woman, former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who also said she had a sexual relationship with him.
Mr Trump has denied having affairs with either woman.
Mr Trump in 2018 initially disputed knowing anything about the payment to Ms Daniels. He later acknowledged reimbursing Mr Cohen for the payment, which he called a "simple private transaction."
"No one is above the law," Ms Daniels' lawyer Clark Brewster said on Twitter.
Mr Cohen pleaded guilty to a campaign-finance violation in 2018 and served more than a year in prison.
Federal prosecutors said he acted at Donald Trump's direction.
Mr Cohen said he stood by his testimony and the evidence he provided to prosecutors.
"Accountability matters," he said in a statement.
No former or sitting US president has ever faced criminal charges.
Mr Bragg's office last year won the criminal conviction of the businessman-turned-politician's real estate company for tax fraud.
Mr Trump also faces two criminal investigations by a special counsel appointed by US Attorney General Merrick Garland and one by a local prosecutor in Georgia.
Donald Trump has escaped legal peril numerous times. In the White House, he weathered two attempts by Congress to remove him from office, including for the January 6, assault on the US Capitol by his supporters, as well as a years-long probe into his campaign's contacts with Russia in 2016.
In last year's tax-fraud case, Bragg targeted Mr Trump's business but declined to charge Mr Trump himself with financial crimes, prompting two prosecutors who worked on the probe to resign.
In the hush-money case, legal experts say that Bragg might have to rely on untested legal theories to argue Mr Trump falsified business records to cover up other crimes, such as violating federal campaign finance law.
Donald Trump leads his early rivals for his party's nomination, holding the support of 44% of Republicans in a MarchReuters/Ipsos poll, compared with 30% support for his nearest rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has yet to announce his candidacy.
President Joe Biden is expected to seek re-election.
