In an unparalleled legal development, a Manhattan grand jury has indicted former President Donald Trump in the Stormy Daniels hush money case, marking the first instance of criminal charges being brought against a former US president, according to the Daily News.

Trump's lawyer, Joe Tacopina, confirmed the indictment but did not specify the charges filed by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. A court source informed the Daily News that a grand jury foreman was in the process of delivering an indictment around 5:30 p.m.

The grand jury had been examining hush money payments made to adult film star Daniels on the eve of Trump's 2016 presidential election, how Trump categorized reimbursement checks to his then-fixer Michael Cohen, and how the transaction was concealed to hide its purpose of influencing the election. The logistics of Trump's surrender at Manhattan Supreme Court, where he must plead to the charges, remain uncertain.

The hush money arrangement has been public knowledge since Cohen disclosed the entire scheme and Trump's involvement during his 2018 federal case when he admitted to campaign finance violations, among other crimes.

Cohen referred to Trump as "Individual 1" in his plea, acknowledging that the payment to Daniels was made "for the principal purpose of influencing" the 2016 presidential election.

According to the federal case, Daniels received a $130,000 payment when Trump's campaign discovered she was prepared to disclose her allegations of a 2006 sexual encounter with Trump at a Lake Tahoe golf tournament. Cohen obtained the money through a home equity line of credit and wired it to Daniels via an LLC.

Prosecutors in the federal case stated that Cohen "acted in coordination with and at the direction of" Trump and campaign officials to illegally pay Daniels into silence about the alleged sexual encounter to enhance his chances of winning the presidency.

The historic charges against Trump in his hometown come more than four years after Bragg's predecessor, Cy Vance Jr., initiated an investigation into the real estate developer and his business dealings. The long-running inquiry has resulted in numerous twists and turns, including the 2021 criminal charges against the Trump Organization and its finance chief, Allen Weisselberg, for tax fraud, leading to both of their convictions.