Trump faces day in court in historic US first
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[April 04, 2023]
By Karen Freifeld, Julia Harte and Tyler Clifford
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Donald Trump, the ex-president and frontrunner to
be Republican nominee in 2024, will appear in court on Tuesday and is
set to be formally charged, finger-printed and have a mug shot taken in
a watershed moment ahead of next year's presidential election.
Trump was indicted last week, becoming the first sitting or former
president to face criminal charges, over a case involving a 2016 hush
money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. He has said he is innocent
and is due to plead not guilty.
Trump will turn himself in on Tuesday amid tight security as
demonstrations were expected for and against a man who has riled
liberals and some global allies but is lauded by many white blue-collar
and conservative Christian voters.
"We have to take back our Country and, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" Trump
wrote on his Truth Social profile shortly after arriving in New York
from Florida on Monday, urging supporters to donate to his campaign.
The arraignment, where Trump will be in court to hear charges and have a
chance to enter a plea, was planned for 2:15 p.m. (1815 GMT) on Tuesday.
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Trump's lawyers opposed videography, photography and radio coverage,
saying it would "exacerbate an already almost circus-like atmosphere
around this case", detracting from dignity and decorum.
Judge Juan Merchan late on Monday ruled that five photographers will be
admitted before the arraignment starts to take pictures for several
minutes until they must stop, with cameras allowed in the hallways of
the building.
The District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, who led the
investigation, will later give a news conference in the afternoon.
Trump will return to Florida and deliver remarks from Mar-a-Lago at 8:15
p.m. on Tuesday (0015 GMT on Wednesday), his office said.
The specific charges in the indictment by a grand jury convened are due
to be disclosed on Tuesday. Trump and his allies have portrayed the
charges as politically motivated.
Yahoo News late on Monday said Trump would face 34 felony counts for
falsification of business records. Citing a single source briefed on
Tuesday's arraignment procedures, Yahoo said none of the charges against
Trump were misdemeanors.
PROTESTS AND POPULARITY
Police over the weekend began erecting barricades near Trump Tower -
where Trump arrived on Monday after flying in from Florida - and the
Manhattan Criminal Court building, with demonstrations expected at both
sites on Tuesday.
The city's mayor warned potential rabble-rousers to behave.
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"Our message is clear and simple: Control yourselves. New York City is
our home, not a playground for your misplaced anger," Eric Adams said.
Asked if he was worried about unrest, President Joe Biden, a Democrat
who is widely expected to seek re-election and face a potential rematch
against Trump, said: “No, I have faith in the New York Police
Department."
The case has divided people in New York, where Trump's name is
emblazoned on buildings related to his business ventures.
"It's a terrific day. I hope it goes well and that he is eventually
found guilty," said New Jersey resident Robert Hoatson, 71, outside
Trump Tower on Monday.
But Trump backer Susan Miller, leaning against the metal barriers on 5th
Avenue just south of Trump Tower on Monday evening, said she hoped the
show of support would "give him a little strength when he goes down...
to battle."
"He’s honest as the day is long,” she said, adding she planned to return
on Tuesday.
Trump's lead has widened over rivals in the Republican Party's
presidential nominating contest, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll
released on Monday, conducted after news broke that he would face
criminal charges.
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A supporter of former U.S. President
Donald Trump flashes the white power gesture near the Manhattan
Criminal Court, after Donald Trump's indictment by a Manhattan grand
jury following a probe into hush money paid to porn star Stormy
Daniels, in New York City, U.S, April 3, 2023. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
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Some 48% of self-described Republicans say they want Trump to be
their party's presidential nominee, up from 44% in a March 14-20
poll. Second-place Florida Governor Ron Desantis fell from 30% to
around 19%.
MULTIPLE LEGAL WOES
The Manhattan grand jury that indicted Trump heard evidence for
months this year about a $130,000 payment to adult film actress
Stormy Daniels in the waning days of the 2016 presidential campaign.
Daniels has said she was paid to keep silent about a sexual
encounter she had with Trump at a Lake Tahoe hotel in 2006. Trump
denies having had any such relationship with her.
An indictment or even a conviction do not legally prevent Trump from
running for President.
Beefing up his legal team, Trump hired Todd Blanche, a prominent
white-collar criminal defense lawyer and former federal prosecutor,
to join his defense, two sources familiar with the matter said.
The Manhattan investigation is just one of several legal challenges
concerning Trump.
Trump also faces a separate criminal probe into whether he
unlawfully tried to overturn his 2020 election defeat in Georgia,
and two investigations by a special counsel including over his
handling of classified documents after leaving office.
Any potential trial in the Manhattan case is still at least more
than a year away, legal experts said, meaning it could occur during
or after the presidential campaign.
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Trump's campaign raised $7 million in the three days after word of
the indictment emerged last Thursday, senior adviser Jason Miller
said, and issued the latest in several fundraising emails, taking
aim at the media's reporting of the indictment.
2024 RAMIFICATIONS
What effect the case has on Republicans deciding on their candidate
for the November 2024 Presidential election, and the choice all
Americans then make, could have profound implications in the world's
most powerful country and beyond its borders.
Leading potential challengers for the nomination, including Desantis
and his former vice president Mike Pence, have publicly rallied
around Trump in recent days.
While president between 2017 and 2021, Trump regularly clashed with
allies over trade and defense, and a return to the Oval Office looks
set to weaken U.S support for Ukraine.
On the Manhattan case, Trump in 2018 initially disputed knowing
anything about the payment to Daniels.
He later acknowledged reimbursing Cohen for the payment, which he
called a "simple private transaction."
In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance law violations for
his role in orchestrating the payments to Daniels and McDougal and
was sentenced to three years in prison. He testified that Trump
directed him to make the payments.
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Cohen testified before the Manhattan grand jury investigating Trump
on March 13.
Following Trump's indictment, he told Reuters: "I decided that I was
not going to allow history to remember me as the villain to his
story."
(Additional reporting by Rich McKay in Palm Beach, Florida, Tim Reid
in Henderson, Nevada; Jonathan Allen, Jeenah Moon and David Dee
Delgado in New York and Doina Chiacu in Washington; writing by
Costas Pitas; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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