On April 5, Manhattan prosecutors accused former President Donald Trump of 34 criminal charges of forging business records in payments to his lawyer Michael Cohen to conceal an affair with adult film actress Stormy Daniels. 

According to CNN, an investigation conducted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg claims that Trump illegally paid hush money to Daniels during his campaign in 2016. 

Students shared their surprise as Trump became the first U.S. president to be indicted with a felony.

Polly Zimmerman ‘25 found the indictment astonishing given Trump’s previous position. 

 “I was kind of surprised to hear that Trump was indicted. Presidents tend to not get severely punished because they are men in power, so hearing that he was actually facing a punishment for his actions was a shock,” Zimmerman said. 

While other students expressed their surprise, some students believe that it was only a matter of time. 

“I think that it would happen eventually, I am not really big into politics news and such, so I didn’t know enough about what was going to happen at that point, but it didn’t really surprise me,” Isaac Morris ‘26 said.  

Jerry Dong ‘23 said he was not surprised by the accusations against Trump, yet, due to his global position as a former world leader, it was a shock. 

“Well, I’m not surprised per say, I know this guy is up to some nefarious crap, but at the end of the day he was an important figure, and someone at that status being indicted, it’s a shock,” Dong said.  

Humanities teachers also gave context on the significance of this trial.

Criminal Law Teacher Cassandra Abodeely gave insight into what the outcomes of the Trump indictment might be. 

“So, is it possible he goes to jail? Yes. Is it likely in my opinion? No, it’s very unlikely. Is it possible the case gets thrown out by a court of higher jurisdiction? Yes. Is that likely? I think there is a good shot,” Abodeely said

Since Trump’s indictment has no precedent, Upper School History Teacher David Cutler explained how impactful Trump’s trial is to American history. 

“I think the best bit of context I can provide is former president Nixon’s coverup with the Watergate scandal, but he was pardoned by his successor Ford. But still, this is new terrain, so we are all living new history right now,” Cutler said.