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Akinwande Soji-Ojo
Former United States President, Donald Trump, on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to 34 criminal charges against him in Manhattan criminal court.
The indictment against Trump has been unsealed, according to CNN.
Trump arrived at the Manhattan District Attorney’s office earlier on Tuesday afternoon, where he was placed under arrest and in police custody before his arraignment.
News outlets will not be able to broadcast the arraignment live, a judge said Monday night, rejecting a request from several media organisations. Five still photographers, however, will be allowed to take pictures of Trump and the courtroom before the hearing begins.
The indictment returned last week by a grand jury against Trump will provide the public and Trump’s legal team with the first details about the specific charges he will face. The investigation stemmed from a hush money payment made to adult film actress, Stormy Daniels, during the 2016 presidential campaign.
It remains to be seen whether Trump will speak in New York.
Chris Kise, one of Trump’s lawyers, said he expects the former president to speak to the cameras in the hallway outside of the courtroom before and after his arraignment, and multiple people familiar with Trump’s thinking said that he has weighed saying something while still in Manhattan. Advisers have warned him, however, that any unplanned remarks put him at high risk of hurting his case.
Trump is scheduled to fly back to Florida following his court appearance and will hold an event at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday evening that gives the 2024 Republican presidential hopeful a chance to respond to the charges.
While Trump’s comments will signal how he intends to fight the charges against him in the political arena, the former president is also preparing for the fight in court. He added a new attorney, Todd Blanche, to serve as lead counsel on his defence team on Monday.
Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg’s indictment marks the first criminal charges against Trump, but it’s not the only potential legal trouble in front of the former president. Special counsel, Jack Smith, is still moving forward with an investigation into Trump’s role in the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and the handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. And a Fulton County special grand jury has completed its investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia.
Trump arrived in New York on Monday afternoon, flying up on his jet from Palm Beach and stayed overnight in Trump Tower.
Law enforcement in New York and the US Secret Service have been planning for the prospect of Trump’s appearance at the courthouse for weeks.
Trump is the first US President to be indicted and appear in court for a criminal offence.