Legal, political experts near Philadelphia weigh in on former President Donald Trump's indictment

The indictment against former President Donald Trump is set to be released in a few days. When it does, the public will formally know what he is being charged with.

Trump was indicted Thursday evening. This makes him the first current or former president to face criminal charges.

It was not immediately clear what the indictment was connected to, or what charges Trump will face.

In the meantime, the legal process has to move forward. Temple University Law Professor Craig Green says it's likely Trump will be heading to New York City for an arraignment.

"Trump will surrender and be photographed, and fingerprinted, and he will make bail, and then he will leave the courthouse," says Green.

What happens to the former president after that is the normal legal process.

Green says there will be objections to the charges, decisions by the judge, and appeals, which may make the process take longer.

Should it get to trial, the professor says it could present a scenario that might be difficult to comprehend.

"If we ever got to a jury trial and he actually was supposed to go to jail, the timeline means this would be well after the election of 2024," says Green. "So, at least it's theoretically possible you could have a sitting president who would face state criminal charges and have to go to jail."

Action News also spoke with Dr. Bill Rosenberg, a professor of politics at Drexel University. He says Trump could use this as an opportunity to rally his base.

"In this case with Donald Trump, he may relish this opportunity to go into the court, hang out on the steps of the court, and claim that he is a victim of political harassment," said Dr. Rosenberg.

He also questions how much impact the indictment will have on the upcoming 2024 election.

"The real issue, I think, comes down to how much is the public going to care about paying a woman hush money in 2016 to keep her quiet when in fact, we already know the details," he noted.

Beth Rabinowitz, an associate professor of political science at Rutgers University, fears this could lead to violence.

"I don't know why people would be so aghast a former president could be indicated. We have laws and nobody is above them," Rabinowitz says.

Green says he believes there is a strong possibility this will go to trial. If Trump is found guilty, the punishment would be an unspecified amount of jail time.