Former US President Donald Trump launched a retaliation after the unprecedented indictments against him and tried to exploit them to his advantage. The 76-year-old Republican again dismissed the legal action as a "witch hunt" and described it as an attack on democracy that would ultimately harm incumbent Joe Biden and his Democrats. Trump is the first former US President to face criminal charges. Immediately after the indictment on Thursday evening (local time), he and his supporters took the opportunity to solicit donations, according to the media.

"The radical left (...) has accused me of a disgusting witch hunt," according to the corresponding emails, from which CNN, CBS News and Fox News, among others, quoted. The country is experiencing the darkest chapter in its history. "With your support, we will write the next great chapter in US history - and 2024 will forever be remembered as the year we saved our republic." The addressees are asked for donations of 24 dollars (around 22 euros) or more. There is a similar call on Trump's campaign website on the Internet.

The district attorney's office in Manhattan had previously announced the indictment against Trump, who is again running for a Republican presidential nomination. The indictment is still under lock and key, so the exact content is still unclear.

Trump condemned the move. "This is political persecution and electoral interference at the highest level in history," it said in a written statement. He accused the Democrats of trying to harm him politically since his first presidential bid for the 2016 election and of harassing him with various investigations during his tenure.

The ex-president denies having an affair

Now they have "done the unthinkable - to accuse a completely innocent person in an act of blatant electoral interference," Trump lamented. "This has never happened in the history of our country." The case involves hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. Shortly before his election as president in 2016, Trump paid the actress hush money after she claimed that she had had sex with him. The ex-president denies an affair, but not that money flowed. According to allegations, however, the payment was deliberately miscalculated in order to cover up the reason for it. In addition, the payment could conflict with campaign finance rules.

Daniels herself thanked her supporters for their support after the indictment. "I got so many messages I can't even reply...I don't want to spill my champagne either," she wrote on Twitter.

The prosecutor's office in New York had been investigating the matter for years and finally appointed a so-called grand jury, which now voted to indict Trump. Several US media, including the television broadcaster CNN, reported that there were more than 30 charges.

If convicted, he faces several years in prison

Initially, only a few details came from the district attorney's office. Trump's attorney was contacted to coordinate his transfer to New York for indictment, officials said. US media, citing Trump's lawyers, reported that the ex-president could probably face justice in New York next week, probably on Tuesday.

A trial and a potential conviction that could see the Republican face several years in prison could only politically affect Trump's plans to run again. In purely legal terms, on the other hand, Trump could theoretically also stand as a convicted criminal in the 2024 election, as legal experts emphasize. Trump had announced his presidential bid several months ago.

The ex-president claimed a few days ago that his arrest in the case was imminent - and called on his supporters to protest. New York then prepared for possible demonstrations and increased security around the courthouse in downtown Manhattan. So far there have been no major protests. That could possibly follow.

Various Republicans reacted outraged to the indictment and saw it as an attack on democracy. Many of them attacked the responsible prosecutor Alvin Bragg. For example, Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy tweeted about Bragg: "While he routinely releases violent criminals to terrorize the public, he has instrumentalized our sacred legal system against President Donald Trump."

Several US Democrats, on the other hand, emphasized that all US citizens must be treated equally. "No one is above the law," former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wrote on Twitter.