Manhattan Grand Jury Indicts Donald Trump

A Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict Donald Trump on charges related to hush money payments, the former president’s lawyer confirmed Thursday evening. Trump will become the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges, and is expected to surrender on Tuesday. 

The Details: Little is known about the specific charges because they are still sealed. Except for Trump’s lawyer, sources who confirmed the charges to news media generally did so on condition of anonymity. The grand jury was investigating a $130,000 hush money payment to silence claims of a sexual encounter with porn actress Stormy Daniels. Multiple sources also reported Thursday that the grand jury was also looking into a $150,000 payment to former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who claimed to have had an affair with Trump. 

How the Media Covered It: Coverage was prominently featured in major outlets across the spectrum. Coverage from the left tended to portray the news as particularly significant. The New York Times (Lean Left bias), the first outlet to break the story, called it “a historic development” and published a live news update detailing that Trump “will be fingerprinted” and “may even be handcuffed.”