In an unprecedented turn of events, former President Donald Trump could find himself indicted on criminal charges in relation to the payment of hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels, according to a report.
If that happens, Fox News, which recently fell out of Trump’s favor amid testimony coming out of a court case involving Dominion Voting Systems, will have to decide how to handle the potential news of criminal charges. Dominion uncovered that the right-leaning media outlet knowingly aired false claims about the 2020 election.
What The Case Is Against Trump
New York prosecutors at the Manhattan district attorney’s office invited Trump to testify in front of a grand jury next week — a signal the former president could be facing charges. It could make 76-year-old Trump the first former president in history to be indicted.
The inquiry, led by District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, has been ongoing for five years. The case against Trump involves a $130,000 payment made in 2016 by Michael Cohen, Trump’s fixer, to Daniels, of which Cohen testified during his own criminal case was done at Trump’s direction.
The investigation is just one out of several Trump currently faces and the former president denies wrongdoing in each of them.
The Potential Outcomes
The case is complex and depends on an interplay of laws, according to the New York Times. If felony charges are brought against the 45th president, it could also be difficult to get a conviction, due to the case depending on the testimony of Cohen, a convicted criminal.
Trump has already latched on to that defense, taking to his Truth Social platform last weekend to highlight Cohen’s criminal history, while at the same time pitting right-against-left over Bragg leading the case.
“Racist George Soros backed D.A., Alvin Bragg, is relying on the testimony of a convicted felon, disbarred lawyer, with zero credibility, who was turned down numerous times by me when he asked for pardons on the crimes he committed having nothing to do with ‘Trump,’” he wrote.
Three days later, Trump took to the platform again to state, “the Democrats are using their Prosecutors to try to steal another Presidental Election.”
Fox News may choose to handle Trump differently in the lead-up to the 2024 primaries and the election that follows. According to Trump, the network has already been slanting its news coverage to favor Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
One thing is for sure, filings released in the Dominion lawsuit show on-air personalities at Fox despised the then-president behind his back, with one text sent by Tucker Carlson indicating he hated Trump.
Photo: Michael Candelori via Shutterstock
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