In advance of his historic criminal trial, former US President Donald Trump has been meeting lawyers at Trump Tower in New York City.
To a p*rnstar who claims they had s*x shortly before the 2016 election, he allegedly paid hush money. Nonetheless, he claims he did nothing illegal. The police in Manhattan have taken precautions in preparation for the expected demonstrations outside the courthouse on Tuesday, 4 April.
Mr. Trump is the first former President of the United States to be charged with a crime.
The Republican tweeted “WITCH HUNT” on his Truth Social platform on Monday before making the trip from Florida to New York, which was covered extensively by American media outlets.
Mr. Trump will be escorted by dozens of police, court officers, and Secret Service agents through the streets of New York City to the Lower Manhattan court complex.
At the hearing, which is set to begin at around 14:15 local time, all of the charges against him will be laid out in detail (19:15 BST). His legal team has already stated that he will enter a not guilty plea.
The first place the ex-president will likely turn himself in is at Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s office.
After Mr. Trump has been fingerprinted and otherwise processed by authorities, he will be in police custody. After that, he’ll be “arraigned,” or brought before a judge to enter a plea to the allegations against him.
Mr. Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, is being investigated for allegedly wiring $130,000 (£105,000) to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election. Trump says he and Daniels never had s*xual relations.
Although hush money contracts themselves are not unlawful, the Manhattan district attorney has been looking into whether or not the money was paid to alter corporate records.
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Demonstrations Ahead of Trump‘s Arraignment
According to reports from the United States, Mr. Trump could be facing multiple felony charges. His indictment reportedly includes around 30 counts.
The legal team for Donald Trump argued that allowing cameras into the courtroom would “create a circus-like environment during the arraignment,” and hence opposed the request made to Judge Juan Merchan by the media.
Millions of people watched him travel from Palm Beach to New York City on a Monday at lunchtime. Throughout the nearly four-hour journey from West Palm Beach to LaGuardia Airport in Queens, live trackers followed his plane, which was painted in red, white, and blue with “Trump” in giant lettering on the side.
New Yorkers and visitors alike flocked to the crossroads near Trump Tower, the former president’s apartment in Manhattan, in anticipation of his arrival. At least five news helicopters hovered high above Fifth Avenue, and dozens of media teams had set up shop on every accessible corner.
Mr. Trump entered the high-rise building shortly after 16:15 local time, waving to the throng and the journalists as he did so (20:15 GMT). On Monday night, he met with his legal team at Trump Tower, a group that now includes white-collar criminal defense attorney and ex-federal prosecutor Todd Blanche, who had previously represented former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.
Since last week’s release of the allegations against Mr. Trump, his team claims that he has raised over $8 million for his 2024 White House campaign.
Officials in New York claim that there has been no influx of demonstrators to the city in recent days, in contrast to the days leading up to the Capitol riot in 2021 by Trump supporters.
During a press conference on Monday 3 April, in Minnesota, Vice President Joe Biden reassured the public that he had faith in the NYPD despite the recent protests in the city.
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