What exactly is an indictment? Everything you need to know about Donald Trump's lawsuit

All of the main issues about the former US president's legal case have been answered.

Donald Trump has become the first past US president to face criminal charges for his alleged involvement in concealing a hush-money payment prior to the 2016 presidential election.

Here's what you need to know about the charge and case:

What exactly is an indictment?

An indictment is a procedure by which an individual gets a "formal notice that it is believed that they committed a crime," according to the US Department of Justice.

The indictment includes the fundamental material that tells the individual of the charges brought against them.

It occurs after a grand jury analyzes all possible evidence to determine whether or not a crime was committed. If the jury decides there is sufficient proof, an indictment will be issued.

In this instance, after hearing evidence from a number of witnesses, the grand jury in New York City, which has been meeting since January, indicted Trump. The exact charges are unknown at this time, and the indictment is expected to be revealed in the coming days.

What was Trump charged with?

After months of hearing evidence about a $130,000 payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels in the final days of the 2016 election campaign, the grand jury decided to charge Trump. The money was reportedly meant to purchase her silence about the claimed encounter years before.

Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal lawyer and fixer, has stated that he organized the payments to Daniels and a second lady, former Playboy model Karen McDougal.

Former President George H.W. Bush has rejected the affair and any misconduct. He stated that the payment was made to shield his image from a false allegation.

While the specific charges were not disclosed, several US media sources reported prior to Thursday's arrest that the possible charges relate to Trump's reimbursement of Cohen, with authorities claiming that he wrongly labeled the payments as legal costs.

The allegation, which is usually a misdemeanor, could be elevated to a crime if authorities connect the payment to breaches of election law, which limits individual contributions to political candidates to $2,700 and requires them to be made public. Daniels' payment, made just before the 2016 election, could be deemed an illegal campaign donation.

What did Trump say?

Trump has denied Daniels' allegation, and his counsel has accused her of extortion. Daniels' actual name is Stephanie Clifford.

Calling himself "a completely innocent person," he described the charge as the latest in a series of actions aimed at "destroying" his Make America Great Again campaign.

The former president also accused the Democrat who headed the probe, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, of attempting to harm his election prospects.

"This is the highest level of political persecution and election interference in history," Trump said in a statement, labeling Bragg a "disgrace."

Is this the only probe into Trump?

Aside from the Manhattan case, Trump is the subject of a number of other probes.
On the federal level, the Department of Justice is looking into Trump's retaining of top-secret government papers at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, as well as attempts by Trump and his supporters to reverse the 2020 election results.
Many of the same players were involved in the latter case, which was the topic of a special grand jury probe in Georgia. The foreperson of the commission stated that the special grand jury suggested numerous criminal charges.

With other severe cases looming, some law experts have questioned the wisdom of the Manhattan case being the first to result in charges.

How have people reacted?

Republicans framed the charge as a political prosecution, charging Bragg of using the criminal justice system for political purposes.

Democrats were quieter in the hours following the announcement of the indictment, but some of the former president's detractors have characterized the case as a long-overdue dose of responsibility.

President Joe Biden, a Democrat who is anticipated to declare his re-election bid next year, has yet to comment.

What happens next?

A judge is anticipated to unseal the Manhattan charges in the coming days, and Trump will be required to journey there to be fingerprinted and photographed, a process known as a surrender date, which a court official said was expected on Tuesday.

He will then appear in front of a magistrate and be officially charged, after which a decision will be made as to whether he should be released on bail or brought into prison.

If Trump does turn himself in, the procedure and release should be reasonably fast. A past president is unlikely to be paraded across the street or through a packed courtroom in handcuffs.

According to legal experts, any possible prosecution is still at least a year away, increasing the chance that the former US president could face a jury in a Manhattan courthouse during or even after his 2024 presidential campaign as he seeks re-election.