welcome to bbc news. i'm lisa—marie misztak. our top stories: donald trump becomes the first former us president to face criminal charges. he's indicted after a probe into money paid to an adult entertainer. the former leader will be charged in new york over alleged hush money given to stormy daniels just before the 2016 presidential election. mr trump, who's running to be president again in 2024, has called the charges a political persecution and election interference at the highest level in history. the oscar—winning actress gwyneth paltrow wins a us lawsuit after being sued over a skiing collision in utah seven years ago.

donald trump has become the first us president in history to be charged with a crime. he'll be charged in new york over alleged hush money given to porn starjust before the 2016 presidential election. mr trump, who's running again for president, has repeated he's innocent, and called the indictment "political persecution and election interference." his son eric said it was the opportunistic targeting of a political opponent in a campaign year. in a moment, we'll get the view from washington with our correspondent nomia iqbal. first, let's go to the court in new york. the bbc�*s nada tawfik is outside the court in new york. you have been there for the last few hours. what is the latest now?—

latest now? well, we are caettin latest now? well, we are getting a _ latest now? well, we are getting a better - latest now? well, we are getting a better sense i latest now? well, we are getting a better sense of| latest now? well, we are - getting a better sense of how all of this is likely to play out in the coming days. that district attorney's office has beenin district attorney's office has been in touch with mr trump's lawyers to negotiate a time for him to turn himself in at the da's office. what we believe is that perhaps on monday mr trump will fly from where he is in his estate in mar—a—lago in florida and come to new york, and then he will face his first court appearance and we call it arraignment here where he will hear the charges formally against him in front of a judge on tuesday, and then he will have the opportunity to enter a plea. so certainly you will see behind me there are already metal barricades up in preparation, the media has descended here on new york and there is an increased police presence in case of any protests, though it has been extremely calm up until now. but certainly, that is the sense we are getting about how this will all play out in the

coming days. of course all uncharted territory for the country both in terms of the legal side of things and politically. legal side of things and politically-— legal side of things and oliticall ., , ., politically. just how did we aet politically. just how did we get here? _ politically. just how did we get here? look, _ politically. just how did we get here? look, this - politically. just how did we get here? look, this casel politically. just how did we - get here? look, this case stems from a five _ get here? look, this case stems from a five year _ get here? look, this case stems from a five year investigation, . from a five year investigation, and if you take yourself all the way back to the 2016 presidential election, just really in the weeks running up to that, president trump allegedly directed michael cohen, his former lawyer, to pay $130,000 to an adult film star, stormy daniels, to stop herfrom sharing her story star, stormy daniels, to stop her from sharing her story of an alleged affair with then candidate donald trump. now, donald trump basically says that the affair never happened, but he never directed michael cohen to make the payment, but after—the—fact, he did pay him back and his lawyers have said this is all about keeping his family from hearing about these

allegations. now, the hush money payments themselves are not the legal problem. those actually aren't illegal to make. what the issue is the district attorney been looking into whether the trump organization falsified their business records and put those payments, actually a legal retainer to michael cohen that wasn't the case. and they say that if those falsifications of business records was meant to conceal a crime of trying to influence the election, although that would violate election laws. so this is of course a complicated legal theory that hasn't been tested before, and i think that is what we are going to say. if the district attorney is able to successfully in this case because the stakes are extremely high.- because the stakes are extremely high. because the stakes are extremel hiuh. ., , , extremely high. has there been an udate extremely high. has there been an update from _ extremely high. has there been an update from mr _ extremely high. has there been an update from mr trump - extremely high. has there been an update from mr trump in - an update from mr trump in terms of reaction to this? he has been _ terms of reaction to this? he: has been reacting in a number of ways, through his campaign, through his lawyers, through

his own posts on social media, he has talked about how this is a political persecution, how this is going to backfire against the democrats and specifically named president biden. he also doesn't believe he can get a fair trial in new york. of course this is a democratic liberal city but one in which mrtrump democratic liberal city but one in which mr trump made his business empire. so he has been sounding off about this entire investigation and really painting it as an attack not just on him, but his entire political base and an attempt to influence the upcoming elections. to influence the upcoming elections-_ to influence the upcoming elections. ., ~' , . elections. thank you very much for that update. _ this is more on what donald trump's reaction is. he said he is completely innocent and he has released a lengthy statement. we have copied some of it. it begins...

the bbc�*s nomia iqbal�*s in washington for us. what is the latest? you have been following this for weeks now. what is the latest now? well, stormy daniels _ what is the latest now? well, stormy daniels has _ what is the latest now? well, | stormy daniels has responded, she hadn't responded immediately, but she has tweeted. stormy daniels of course is the porn star at the centre of all of this, saying thank you for all your support and love, i have so many messages coming in that i can't respond, also don't want to spill my champagne. that is what she has been tweeting. the reaction has been coming in constantly from the republicans, from democrats as well. donald trump has accused the democrats of a witch hunt, political persecution, in his

narrative constantly. he has even attacked president biden. president biden has not responded to any of this. we knew this indictment was coming down the pipeline and he has decided that his response is silence because i guess there is no blueprint for how a sitting president reacts to his predecessor facing this sort of criminal charge. 50 predecessor facing this sort of criminal charge.— criminal charge. so where exactly do _ criminal charge. so where exactly do you _ criminal charge. so where exactly do you think - criminal charge. so where exactly do you think this | exactly do you think this leaves the race for the presidential election in 202a? politically, it will be interesting to see this booster donald trump or deflate him. you have to look at it in two parts. first, it is the nomination to being the presidential candidate for the republican party. right now he is the frontrunner for that, there are others have announced they are running. the one person that could be his real rival is the florida governor, from desantis. he has not announced it running but he is widely tipped to announce is running. when donald trump's home in florida was raided by

the fbi last year, there was a boost in support for him amongst republican voters and republicans. i think it is genuine —— generally thought this will secure the robert w relation. to get to the actual presidency, if he does get the nomination and let's just say he faces president biden again who hasn't officially announced is running, they will be a rematch of 2020, whether or not he wins that, who knows? whether this investigation and the charges that it is going to bring, and other investigations is facing by the way, if that helps him secure new voters, thatis helps him secure new voters, that is really unknowable at this stage. that is really unknowable at this stage-— this stage. what has the reaction _ this stage. what has the reaction been _ this stage. what has the reaction been in - this stage. what has the - reaction been in washington at large to the news of his unprecedented indictment? i think you can split it down party lines. democrats have generally reacted by saying nobody is above the law and that they should be respectful

of this country, they should respect the grand jury who voted for this. just to remind obviously actual indictment, the nature of the exact charges have not been announced yet but we know that they are coming down the pipeline. of course republicans have reacted angrily. you have the republican house speaker kevin mccarthy who is now threatening to investigate all of this using the power of congress. so i would say the reaction to it by the democrats and the republicans is surprising. thank you very much for that update. matt mackowiak is director of a political and corporate communications consulting firm. he's worked on the re—election campaign of george w bush and dick cheney, and joins us now. thank you so much for coming on the programme. this is unprecedented as we have been saying. what's your reaction

to the indictment? we have been trying to read the tea leaves on the grand jury for the last month or two, and yesterday there was this news they would take most of april off because of religious holidays and spring break in new york, that was indicate this was not imminent. obviously it was imminent. there is news i have heard almost no—one in america on national radio talk about tonight as the indictment has come out and this could directly relate to the 3a counts, and that is this news about the second payment to a different woman, a former playboy playmate, that may also be part of this, and that could explain why... be part of this, and that could exniain why- - -_ be part of this, and that could explain why. . ._ it| explain why... inaudible. it looked like _ explain why... inaudible. it looked like the _ explain why... inaudible. it looked like the da _ explain why... inaudible. it looked like the da was - explain why... inaudible. it. looked like the da was starting to reconsider but that wasn't the case. the grand jury is held in secret. the accuser is not there at all, doesn't have defence lawyers present. the judge is not present. it is a one—sided affair. it does lend

itself to the phrase we have heard many times, which is that you can indict a ham sandwich. that said, we have to see what the indictment actually says. i would like to read it before we give most of the stage of analysis of it. that said, we are in uncharted territory here, this doesn't like it is an over prosecution based on what we know today, the fact that they are up charging a misdemeanour to get around the statute of limitations problem that they have, but again, it is 30 or 35 charges, that seems to be fairly serious. we have to be fairly serious. we have to read it and see what is in there. �* , , ., to read it and see what is in there. ~ , i. ., there. as you mentioned, we still don't _ there. as you mentioned, we still don't know _ there. as you mentioned, we still don't know the _ there. as you mentioned, we still don't know the full- still don't know the full details of this indictment, but what impact do you think it will have on donald trump and his supporters? in will have on donald trump and his supp°ftefs?_ his supporters? in the near term the — his supporters? in the near term the party _ his supporters? in the near term the party will- his supporters? in the near term the party will rally - term the party will rally behind it, we have seen that including among some competitors. you might even have some trumpet critics in the republican party circle around him. it might strengthen him in the short to medium term. i don't think this is

something that helps in a general election if he becomes a nominee, i don't think that helps him. that repels the voters and women and the constituencies he had challenges with when he went for election in 2020, but of course we have to see how it plays out. is there a trial? does the trial get moved? is it is missed entirely? is the timeline for of this? at what point does he have to make a decision about testifying? who makes up the jury? these are all questions that will reveal themselves over the next six, 12, 18 months.— themselves over the next six, 12, 18 months. you have worked on the election _ 12, 18 months. you have worked on the election campaigns - 12, 18 months. you have worked on the election campaigns for i on the election campaigns for george w bush and dick cheney. what would your advice peter someone like donald trump if there is a possibility of running on the 2024 presidential election? well, he doesnt presidential election? well, he doesn't take — presidential election? well, he doesn't take advice _ presidential election? well, he doesn't take advice very - presidential election? well, he doesn't take advice very well i doesn't take advice very well and the kind of advice i would give him, i doubt he would want to follow. he is a fighter and he will want to fight this as hard as possible. is going to

look for an advantage in of using this against biden in the democrats in thejustice department, and that may be smart politics in the short—term. i don't know if it is smart politics in the medium to long—term. i don't think these legal challenges are strengthening the case for him to run for president. i think that a lot of uncertainty and chaos around him which i think a lot of voters were already tired of, including a quarter or a third of republican voters. the question will be, does this hurt him in any way in the short to medium term or does he use it to rally republicans around him? what does it do to the other candidates who are running? do we make is about other issues order to become central to the presidential campaign? i have no doubt the media will focus on this every day for the next year and a half. on this every day for the next yearand a half. i on this every day for the next year and a half. i don't know whether republican primary voters will care very much about this.— voters will care very much about this. ., ~' , ., , . about this. thank you very much for our about this. thank you very much for your time. _ about this. thank you very much for your time. thanks. _ i'm joined now

by clare finkelstein, a professor of law at the university of pennsylvania. thank you so much for coming onto the programme. first of all, your reaction to this unprecedented news that we are hearing. unprecedented news that we are hearinu. , .,, , unprecedented news that we are hearinu. , ., , ., unprecedented news that we are hearin. , , ., ., hearing. this has been a long time coming _ hearing. this has been a long time coming of _ hearing. this has been a long time coming of course. - hearing. this has been a long | time coming of course. many, many years we have known about the payoff to stormy daniels and the fact that it may have violated the campaign finance law. at these particular indictments may have had to do, we don't know yet because the indictments haven't been unsealed, with irregularities in reporting around the finances concerning the payoff to stormy daniels, and as your previous speaker indicated, there were supposedly many accounts to the indictments so it may be quite serious financial violations. they will be state law violations, but there may be federal charges that could potentially be

brought related to the same set of transactions. we willjust have to wait and see also what does the process of something like this happen going forward? what are the next steps? his la er what are the next steps? fl 3 lawyer involuntarily surrendered, but donald trump himself never said that. that is what ought to happen. so what ought to happen is that donald trump would fly to new york and surrender himself to law enforcement voluntarily. he himself indicated that he might actually want to be handcuffed and photographed doing the walk. i think he perceives that narrative is feeding in to the idea that he is being unfairly targeted by democratic leaders, sort of in his mind the deep state. so he may try to use this to political advantage. but the normal way this would go would be a voluntary

surrender because he is not exactly viewed as a flight risk since he can't easily leave the country incognito. now, you mentioned he is not a flight risk, but as a former president, and someone who has now been indicted, what does that look like, because it couldn't be the same as a normal person, someone who hasn't been a president. what would it look like for trump having potentially to be arraigned next week. what would happen? arraigned next week. what would ha en? ~ ., , arraigned next week. what would ha en? . ., , ., happen? well, it would be a hue happen? well, it would be a huge media _ happen? well, it would be a huge media circus, - happen? well, it would be a huge media circus, and - happen? well, it would be a huge media circus, and of i huge media circus, and of course the big fear is there would be violent demonstrations. i think there must be some reason that hasn't been fully revealed as to why we have reporting that suggested the grand jury was on hiatus for a month, and then immediately, within 24 hours, we had this indictment. so there is an enormous concern of course about political

backlash, and physical violence, relating to this indictment. and there have been an enormous number of threats against elvis —— alvin bragg, the new york prosecutor. what disturbs me particularly as that merrick garland ought to be out there, making statements about the importance of protecting alvin bragg. there are potential federal crimes being committed with the threats against alvin bragg. it is very important to protect the rule of lorca, and the prosecutorial process here, and i would hope that not only state but also federal law enforcement would be out there to protect the new york prosecutor. 50 to protect the new york prosecutor.— to protect the new york rosecutor. u, , . to protect the new york rosecutor. , . ., prosecutor. so he can expect a different type _ prosecutor. so he can expect a different type of _ prosecutor. so he can expect a different type of treatment, i different type of treatment, compared to someone else, say? yes, i think you can come in all fairness. while we're talking about so—called white—collar financial crimes that would not ordinarily lead to the kind of dramatic arrest that we expect to see street

crimes, but still, i think that donald trump will be handled with kid gloves. i think there has already been an extreme bending over backwards to make sure that these charges are well placed and justified, and i think he will be treated with a measure of extra precaution and care to make sure that there is no perception of political bias in the prosecution of these potential crimes. ., prosecution of these potential crimes. . ., ~ prosecution of these potential crimes. . ., ,, , ., crimes. claire, thank you. thanks for— crimes. claire, thank you. thanks for having - crimes. claire, thank you. thanks for having me. - i'm joined now by lynn sweet, washington bureau chief of chicago sun times. thank you for coming on the programme. thank you for coming on the programme. unprecedented is the key word — what's your reaction to today's news? well, my reaction was to take a little bit of a different angle here, was how swiftly all of

trump's allies came to his defence, all saying the same thing, and that is it is a focused attempt to discredit the manhattan district attorney, alvin bragg. almost every statement read the same way, almost every statement from his allies made some reference to alvin bragg being a soros prosecutor, and that is a soros prosecutor, and that is a reference to george soros, the wealthy financial business executive but who also is jewish, and many people have written that when you use his name as a stand—in, you are raising anti—semitic tropes. but so many people now who are his allies are saying that i do think it is noteworthy. this is a campaign to deflect that is going on now because it let

someone like florida governor george to santos —— george desantis fight at a prosecutor rather than being put in a position to defend donald trump on, if it is the hush money charges you are talking about, do stem from a kind of salacious incident that would be very hard to defend by any republican, especially one who wants to be president. you mention — wants to be president. you mention the _ wants to be president. you mention the florida - wants to be president. you mention the florida republican governor ron desantis, who is widely expected to be an opponent for trump in 2024, he slammed the indictment, and tweeted that the state will not assist in any extradition request from manhattan district attorney, alvin bragg. are you surprised by that support? that is not sunport. _ surprised by that support? that is not support, that _ surprised by that support? that is not support, that is - surprised by that support? t'isgt is not support, that is very cunning. what it does, it is a figleaf, it sounds like desantis is going to go to bat and do something for him. what

would be the assistance that a new york prosecutor would want? maybe some courtesy of letting this personnel from new york to come down to make sure that trump got on the plane? this is not another country, florida is just another state. the assistance that would be needed is minimal. now, by the way, if it were not a former president, maybe you would need some help from a florida state trooper, or you would need an escort or something to make sure you're suspect got on the plane. a former president in the united states has full—time secret service protection. there is a thought that one of the reasons trump has not been asked to surrender until tomorrow is that it does take time for the secret service to make security plans, so you really don't need any help from the florida governor. i think it was a very clever way to try and make it

sound, as if he was defending trump... 50 sound, as if he was defending trump- - -_ sound, as if he was defending trump... so sorry to interrupt ou but trump... so sorry to interrupt you but unfortunately - trump... so sorry to interrupt you but unfortunately we - trump... so sorry to interrupt| you but unfortunately we have run out of time. i just want to break away from this story for a moment, to bring you another update we've had in from the us, where a jury has found the oscar—winning actor gwyneth paltrow was not responsible for the injuries sustained by a man during a ski slope collision in 2016. the star was being sued over the incident in utah, but the jury ruled that it was in fact the claimant — a retired optometrist, terry sanderson — who was at fault. was gwyneth paltrow at fault? no. was gwyneth paltrow�*s fault a cause of terry sanderson's harm? oh, no. skip that. there'sjust no response there. 0k. was terry sanderson at fault? yes. was terry sanderson's fault a cause gwyneth paltrow�*s — did, um, did terry sanderson's

fault cause gwyneth paltrow�*s harm? yes. comparative fault. what percent of the fault do you assign to terry sanderson? 100%. damages. what amount fairly commensure... ..compensates gwyneth paltrow for economic damages? $1. our correspondent sophie long was at the court for the verdict. well, there's been a huge amount of interest in this trial, of course, and it lasted just short of two weeks, and it took the jury just two hours to deliberate and come to their verdict, and they found that gwyneth paltrow was not responsible for causing the collision with 76—year—old terry sanderson on the ski slopes, just a few miles from where i am standing now, and they found in fact that he was responsible for the collision.

this was a "he said, she said" trial. we heard a huge amount of evidence about his state of mind and his physical and mental health before and after that accident, but we now know that the jury found that gwyneth paltrow was not responsible. he was suing her for $300,000. she countersued for $1. she has now been awarded that $1 in damages and he will also now be liable to pay her legal fees, which will likely run into hundreds of thousands of dollars. gwyneth paltrow left court immediately after the verdict. she didn't stop to speak to reporters. she walked past very serenely and calmly, as she has been throughout the course of this trial and when terry sanderson came out, he stopped to speak to reporters and he said that gwyneth paltrow had spoken to him on her way out of court, and she said, "i wish you well," and he said, "thank you." i spoke to a ski instructor, who's been working on the mountain around here for several decades, and he pointed out that collisions are not uncommon, skiing is a high—risk sport

but it is very rare for a case to come to court. now, i think what most people here have been thinking about, there has been a huge spectacle, i mean, a lot of the evidence has been very dry, it's been very expert witness—heavy but winner paltrow�*s evidence was very interesting. she had a very different version of events than that of terry sanderson. both of them claimed that the other one ran into the back of them. this has sparked a huge social media circus, really, a huge amount of activity on tiktok and instagram, and even late—night shows in america have turned this case into comedy. people here, though, in utah, in park city, have seen this as a positive thing, in some respects, and that it's raised awareness of safety on the mountains. ms paltrow said in her initial evidence that she hadn't been totally aware that, if a collision takes place, you must give your details to the other person, details must be exchanged before you leave the mountain. there is a very clear code

of conduct, and a ski instructor i spoke to today said in a way it will raise awareness of that and in any way, the mountains will be a safer place because of this very high—profile trial. that's over now. thank you very much for company. goodbye. hello, there. thursday turned out to be the warmest day of the year so far, with temperatures in suffolk reaching highs of 17.8 celsius, very close to 18 degrees. but while there were some spells of sunshine, there were also some hefty downpours. and we're starting friday with, actually, some more persistent rain, swirling around this area of low pressure. now, this has been named by the french weather service, it's been named storm martis, for the strength of the winds in the north of france. but it is also bringing some very strong winds through the english channel, affecting the channel islands, southern coasts of england, even into the south coast of wales. gusts of 50, 60, 70mph, as we start friday morning with some outbreaks of heavy and persistent rain.

that rain really lingering through the day across the south—west of england, even as the winds slowly ease for the south—east of england, east anglia, the midlands, parts of wales will see some hefty showers. northern england and eastern scotland, quite cloudy with a bit of rain at times. some bright skies for western scotland and northern ireland, but with some showers as well. not quite as warm as it was on thursday — generally eight to 13 celsius. and then, as we head through friday night, well, this band of rain stays quite stubbornly across western parts of the uk, a lot of cloud filtering into eastern areas, as well. not a particularly cold night, temperatures generally between three and 9 celsius. so, into saturday, quite a messy weather picture. this area of low pressure still fairly close by. a couple of different weather systems bringing a focus for some outbreaks of rain. we will have this band of rain likely to affect parts of northern ireland, wales and the south of england, as we go through saturday. further east, a lot of clouds, some spots of rain with that, and quite a brisk breeze,

meaning that for parts of eastern scotland and north—east england, it will feel really rather cool, in fact, quite chilly, and even further inland and further west, it is going to be cooler than it has been. now, as we get into the second half of the weekend, low pressure loses its influence, and high pressure starts to build, and that means we'll have lighter winds for the most part on sunday, a little bit breezy in the south—east corner. there should also be less cloud and more in the way of sunshine. and aside from a few showers, most places will be dry, but still a little cooler than it has been — highs of 9—12 celsius.

this is bbc news. the headlines: donald trump has become the first former us president to face criminal charges. he has been indicted after a probe into alleged hush money given to the adult entertainer, stormy daniels, just before the 2016 presidential election. trump allegedly recorded the payment as a business expense.