Unprecedented/ The way is opened for the arrest of former US President Donald Trump, criminal charges are brought against him

A Manhattan grand jury vote has given the green light to indict former President Donald Trump on charges related to payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to buy the silence of a pornographic actress. related to allegations of extramarital affairs.

Republican Donald Trump, who is running to retake the White House in the 2024 election, said in a statement on his Truth Social network that: "  This is political persecution and election interference at the highest level in history".

Former President Trump said in the statement that the radical left Democrats tried in every way to undermine his presidency from the moment he was declared the winner of the presidential election.

It is the first-ever criminal indictment of a former US president and a blow to Mr Trump's bid to retake the White House in 2024.

"Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their efforts to shoot Trump. But now they have done the unthinkable, filing charges against a completely innocent person, in a blatant act of election interference," said Mr. Trump's statement.

The indictment was confirmed Thursday by Joe Tacopina, a lawyer for Mr. Trump, and others with knowledge of the matter but were not authorized to discuss the charges, which have not yet been made public.

The grand jury's green light to indict the 76-year-old Trump is an extraordinary event after years of investigations into his business and political dealings.

The filing of the lawsuit is likely to fuel critics who say Mr. Trump rigged his way to the White House, but it will also engage his supporters, who say Republican Trump is being unfairly targeted by a Democratic prosecutor.

"Manhattan Attorney Alvin Bragg, who was elected and funded by George Soros, is a disgrace. "Instead of stopping the unprecedented wave of crime that has taken over New York City, he is doing Joe Biden's dirty work," said Mr. Trump in his statement posted on the "Truth Social" network.

Lawyer Tacopina said in a statement that: “He has not committed any crime. We will vigorously fight this political pursuit in court".

The prosecutor's investigation focused on money paid to pornographic actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who he feared would go public with allegations that they had had affairs with him.

Mr. Trump, who has denied the allegations and repeatedly attacked the investigation as politically motivated, is expected to surrender to authorities next week, though details are still being worked out, according to an anonymous person with knowledge of the matter.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is taking an unusual step. The case was investigated by two previous prosecutors, who declined to take the politically charged step of seeking to indict Mr. Trump.