Donald Trump will appear in New York court on Tuesday to answer criminal charges against him. Details of the charges are not yet known as the indictment remains sealed, while the lawyer says the former US president will not be handcuffed.
Trump and his legal team are gearing up for an unprecedented spectacle – the court appearance on Tuesday of a former US president facing criminal charges.
Trump’s indictment was not released on Friday, so details of the charges are still pending, writes The Guardian. At his Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago, the former US president prepares for his upcoming trip to surrender to authorities in New York, following the surprise news Thursday night that a grand jury has voted to indict him .
Trump lawyer Joe Takopina said on Friday he understood from prosecutors that the former US president would not be handcuffed when he surrendered to authorities next week.
While Takopina admitted the news of the indictment came as a shock to Trump on Thursday, and it was understood the former US president learned of his fate through the press, Trump continued to attack the investigation into money laundering during the 2016 presidential election.
After it was revealed that a grand jury had voted to indict Trump, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said nearly two hours later that he had contacted Trump’s lawyers to find out. give.
Trump expects to be arrested and charged — subpoenaed to answer the charges — Tuesday afternoon in lower Manhattan, and plans to plead not guilty to all charges, Takopina said.
The attorney told ABC News that access to the courthouse will be severely restricted during arraignment amid fears of potential unrest following the former US president’s unprecedented arrest. He predicted New York authorities “won’t let this turn into a circus.”
“We will go there and at some point we will meet with the judge, we will plead not guilty, we will start talking about filing motions, which we will do immediately and very aggressively regarding the legal validity of this case,” said said Takopino.
It’s still unclear exactly what Trump is charged with, writes The Guardian, but he could face dozens of charges in connection with his role in the $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels, who claims to have had an extramarital affair with Trump since 2006. Trump has denied the connection, and while he admitted to reimbursing his former attorney Michael Cohen for Daniels’ $130,000 payment, he does not admit any wrongdoing in the ‘affair.
The Associated Press reported on Friday that Trump’s indictment would contain multiple allegations of falsifying business documents, including at least one felony, according to people familiar with the matter, but the indictment itself has not been made public.
Porn actress Stormy Daniels was due to give her first interview since being charged to British TV presenter Piers Morgan on Friday night but was forced to postpone it due to unspecified ‘security concerns’.
As Trump’s legal team prepares for a controversial and potentially lengthy trial, the former US president has continued to attack investigators via social media. In an article criticizing the judge appointed to try his case, Trump promised to appeal any decision, even though the trial is far from starting.
“They brought this false, corrupt and shameful accusation against me simply because I support the American people and they know I can’t get a fair trial in New York!” Trump made the announcement Thursday night.
Trump’s successor carefully avoided discussing the indictment. Leaving the White House Friday morning for a trip to Mississippi to assess the damage caused by a deadly tornado a week ago, Joe Biden repeatedly told reporters ‘no comment’ when asked. on his reaction.
News of the indictment sent shockwaves through Capitol Hill, with Republicans rushing to Trump’s defense and Democrats repeating that no one is above the law.
“The rule of law is essential to the integrity of our democracy. It must be applied equally, without fear or favour, said House Democratic leader Hakim Jeffreys. “The indictment of a former president is a grave moment for the nation. A jury of Donald Trump’s colleagues will now determine his legal fate.”
Leading Republicans echoed Trump’s statements about political persecution, and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy accused Bragg of “causing irreparable harm to our country.”
“The American people will not tolerate this injustice, and the House of Representatives will hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power accountable,” McCarthy said Thursday.
Even some of Trump’s opponents in the 2024 Republican presidential primaries have come to his defense, such as Nikki Haley, a former US ambassador to the UN, accusing Bragg of trying to score “political points” by pursuing the case. “It’s more about revenge than justice,” Haley said in an interview with Fox News.
Trump’s former Vice President Mike Pence, who is expected to announce his own White House bid in the coming months, called the indictment ‘outrageous’ and ‘criminalization of politics in this country. “.
Pence’s comments, The Guardian points out, were particularly notable given that Trump supporters who attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, called for the vice president to be hanged for his refusal to derail confirmation by Congress. of Biden’s victory in the 2020 election.
CNN host Wolf Blitzer noted that Trump kicked off his campaign rally last weekend in Texas by playing a recording of the national anthem sung by insurgents on Jan. 6. When asked if it was okay with him, Pence replied, “No.”
