"What kind of person can charge another person, in this case a former president of the United States...with a Crime, when it is known by all that no crime has been committed [and] also known that potential death [and] destruction in such a false charge could be catastrophic for our country?" Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social.
Prosecutors had offered Trump the opportunity to testify before a grand jury, which is typically extended to potential defendants when an indictment is imminent. Trump has refused, denying the charges and saying the entire case is a political witch hunt complete with gross prosecutorial overreach.
While Trump has been the subject of various criminal investigations, he has thus far avoided being charged. The inquiry at hand involves a $130,000 payment to Daniels handled by Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen during his 2016 presidential campaign. The payment was allegedly made to buy Daniels’ silence over her allegations of an affair with Trump.
Cohen’s own lawyer has recently said that his client used his own money, rather than Trump’s, to pay off Daniels.