No handcuffs and a not-guilty plea when Trump surrenders, his lawyers say

[April 01, 2023]  By Karen Freifeld
 
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former President Donald Trump will not be handcuffed when he surrenders next week in New York to face criminal charges, his defense lawyer Joe Tacopina said on Friday.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump attends the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at Gaylord National Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, U.S., March 4, 2023. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

Susan Necheles, another Trump attorney, said the former president will plead not guilty.

Tacopina said, while Trump was not expected to be cuffed, he likely would be fingerprinted and undergo other routine protocols when going to court on Tuesday to face charges in an indictment handed down by a grand jury probing a hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels during Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.

"I don't know how all this is going to go down," Tacopina cautioned in an interview. "There's no textbook to see how you arraign a former president of the United States in criminal court."

Necheles declined to comment on details of the surrender.

The Manhattan District Attorney's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Tacopina said Trump and his defense team were surprised by news of the indictment.

"Initially we were all shocked. Didn't believe they were actually going to go through with this because there's no crime here," Tacopina said.

(Reporting by Karen Freifeld; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Howard Goller)

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