Trump pleads not guilty to felony charges in Stormy Daniels hush money case – as he’s booked, fingerprinted and says ‘I can’t believe this is happening in America’
- Trump voluntarily surrendered to New York authorities in the Stormy Daniels probe in a historic moment
- He sat before a Manhattan judge to hear the charges against him over porn star’s hush money payments
- Former president raised his fist in defiance as he left Trump Tower, and waved as he entered court building
- Follow DailyMail.com’s live blog of events as the defining day in American politics unfolds in Manhattan
Donald Trump made history on Tuesday when he stood in a Manhattan court and became the first former President of the United States in history to be indicted on criminal charges.
Trump, 76, surrendered voluntarily and was placed under arrest before the judge read the charges against him – as he sat alongside his defense attorneys in a packed courtroom.
He pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels in the final days of his presidential campaign in 2016.
His entry into the Manhattan courthouse was surrounded by chaos – helicopters flying over head, protesters and supporters clashing in the streets, and cameras recording every moment of the circus sparked by District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s criminal probe.
Trump snubbed reporters and walked silently into the courtroom after being fingerprinted and processed at the New York Criminal Court Tuesday afternoon. He avoided handcuffs and being placed in a cell.
He had his lawyer Joe Tacopina with him, along with aides Jason Miller and Boris Epshteyn.
Donald Trump made history on Tuesday when he stood in a Manhattan court and became the first former President of the United States in history to be indicted on criminal charges.
While his motorcade drove him from Trump Tower to downtown Manhattan, he posted on Truth Social that he couldn’t ‘believe this is happening in America’.
Judge Juan Merchan ruled against cameras in the courtroom – depriving the former reality TV star of a made-for-television moment – but allowed still photographers inside to take photos.
Trump is expected to be released on his recognizance and is scheduled to return to Mar-a-Lago, his home in Palm Beach, later Tuesday evening where he will make remarks at 8:15 pm EST.
Trump has been defiant ahead of the arraignment hearing, declaring himself to be the victim of weaponized legal system and a political target by Democrats who don’t want to see him win another term in the White House.
A Secret Service and NYPD motorcade of SUVs escorted him from Trump Tower, where he spent the night after arriving in New York City on Monday from his Mar-a-Lago home, along the six mile drive to the courthouse where he was booked, fingerprinted and read his rights.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the charges against he former president, arrived at court Tuesday morning ahead of the former president.
The case involves a $130,000 hush-money payment that his then-attorney Michael Cohen made to Daniels in the final days of the 2016 campaign.
Cohen said he made the payment at Trump’s direction and it was to ensure Daniels would not go public with her story of a sexual encounter with the married Trump.
The alleged affair happened in 2006, long before Trump entered politics and when he was married to Melania. It was shortly after she gave birth to their son Barron.
Trump denies both the affair and any legal wrongdoing.
President Trump with his defense team in Manhattan court
A stony-faced former President Donald Trump snubbed reporters and walked silently into the courtroom after being fingerprinted and processed at the New York Criminal Court Tuesday afternoon
The former president waves to waiting crowds before walking into the Manhattan District Attorney’s office to be processed
Donald Trump raises his fist as he leaves Trump Tower on the way to the Manhattan Criminal Court to turn himself in
Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg is seen walking into the courtroom on the 15th floor ahead of Trump’s arraignment
Donald Trump and Stormy Daniels – the case is tied to a hush money payment made to her
Protesters clashing outside of One Hogan Place, New York, NY, Tuesday April 4th 2023
Police Chief Jeffrey Maddrey looks on outside the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse where Donald Trump will be arraigned
Trump has gone on the attack against Bragg, calling him a ‘racist in reverse.’ He also claims Bragg is funded by billionaire George Soros, who many conspiracy theorists claim is using his money to control world events.
‘Bragg is a (Soros) Racist in Reverse, who is taking his orders from D.C. I beat them TWICE, doing much better the second time, and despite their DISINFORMATION campaign, they don’t want to run against ‘TRUMP’ or my GREAT RECORD!’ Trump wrote on his TruthSocial platform last month.
Soros, who made his fortune in hedge funds, said he never contributed to Bragg’s election campaign. Soros has become a figure of hate for Trump and his allies.
The former president also pushed for the case to be moved from Manhattan to the more Republican-friendly Staten Island just hours before his historic arraignment.
Trump tore into the judge’s supposed anti-Trump sentiment on Truth Social and said the new location would be ‘very fair and secure.’
He also noted that the Judge Juan Merchan’s daughter, Loren Merchan, worked for Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign, deepening the alleged bias against him.
Judge Merchan’s daughter Loren worked as the director of digital for Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign. She was with the campaign from February 2019 until December of the same year.
Loren Merchan concluded her work with the campaign to move to fill the same role at Authentic, a digital strategies firm for progressives.
And polls show Trump’s strategy may be working as he is more popular than ever with Republican voters and getting a massive political boost as he seeks a second term in the White House.
National polls, as well as state surveys in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, show voters are still supporting his third bid for president.
Trump is leading his closest competition, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, by double digits.
DeSantis originally took a few digs at Trump – saying he didn’t know what went into paying hush money to porn stars – but as polls showed Trump’s popularity, the Florida governor switched tactics, saying he block New York if it attempted to extradite Trump.
During his short drive between Trump Tower and court, the former president expressed disbelief that he was about to be arrested
Bragg arrives at his office on Tuesday morning ahead of the historic arraignment that is the first step in a career-defining case for him
Protesters clashing outside of One Hogan Place, New York, NY, Tuesday April 4th, 2023.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, flanked by security, led Trump supporters in protest
Shamed Congressman George Santos arriving at the courthouse on Tuesday ahead of Trump’s indictment
The former president voluntarily went to Manhattan and appeared in court, meaning an extradition attempt was not needed. Other Republicans have spoken in Trump’s defense, saying the former president is a victim of politics.
Additionally, Trump’s campaign said it’s raised $8 million dollars since news of his pending indictment broke. On Tuesday morning, it sent out another appeal, titled ‘My last email before arrest.’
A conviction would not prevent Trump from running for or winning the presidency in 2024.
Defiance and defensive attacks are the corner stones of any Trump strategy – tactics he has used throughout his business career, during his two presidential runs, and throughout his time in the White House.
It helped him when he was impeached twice by the U.S. House of Representatives – but he was never convicted in the U.S. Senate.
The former president faces other possible indictments: the Justice Department is investigating him on two separate cases: the discovery of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago home and attempts to overturn the 2020 election results. The state of Georgia is also investigating Trump’s attempts to overturn the election results there.
Ahead of Tuesday’s hearing, Trump called on his supporters to protest his arraignment.
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Georgia Republican and who is a close Trump ally, held a rally at the park across from the courthouse.
Disgraced Congressman George Santos made a surprise appearance.
Greene said the case was a ‘travesty’ and that it should ‘never happen in America ever’. But her words could barely be heard as counter-protesters took to the streets, screaming back at her.
The only other president to be charged with a crime was Ulysses S. Grant, who was arrested in 1872 for speeding in his horse and buggy. He was taken to jail and had to pay a $20 fine.
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