Former US President Donald Trump was taken into custody at Manhattan Criminal Court on Tuesday to face criminal charges, according to media reports.
Trump, who turned himself in Tuesday for a historic New York court hearing held amid tight security and a global media frenzy, becomes the first American president in history to face criminal charges.
In a spectacle playing out on live television – with rival protesters rallying outside — the hearing marks a watershed moment for the US criminal and political system, with the potential to upend the 2024 White House race in which Trump is currently the presumptive Republican nominee.
Guilty or Not Guilty
The 76-year-old is expected to plead not guilty to a host of charges related to hush money paid to a porn star ahead of the 2016 election that brought him to power.
The New York Times reported that Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felonies, including falsifying business records and conspiracy. The crux of the charges focus on “hush money” payments made to two women: Daniels, and per reporting from NBC News, former Playboy model Karen McDougal.
The Republican billionaire surrendered to the Manhattan district attorney’s office in the same building before the historic hearing.
Wearing a dark blue suit and red tie, he was fingerprinted and processed but it was unclear whether a mugshot of him was also taken.
A stony-faced Trump then made his way to the courtroom, without saying anything, for his arraignment where the formal charges were disclosed. He was not in handcuffs during the proceedings.
He sat with his hands folded as he entered his plea flanked by his lawyers. “Not guilty,” Trump said.
The indictment, which has been unsealed, includes a charge of conspiracy and one of hush money payments to two women, according to Sky’s US partner network NBC News.
Trump has been under investigation over a $130,000 wire transfer by his former attorney, Michael Cohen, to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election, which he won. It was allegedly made to prevent her from discussing a sexual encounter she said she had with Trump at a hotel in Lake Tahoe in 2006.
Together the charges carry a maximum sentence of 136 years in jail under New York law, but if he is convicted at a trial the term would almost certainly be far less than that.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Trump surrenders: Trump surrendered at Manhattan District Attorney’s Office at 1:23 p.m. EST and was placed under arrest.
Trump pleads not guilty: He pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts involving hush money payments to women who claimed to have had sex with him.
What’s at stake: The high-stakes case represents risks for Trump, who faces possible criminal penalties if convicted, and also Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who Republicans including Trump have vilified as politically motivated.
What was grand jury investigating?: Witnesses said Trump arranged for his former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, to pay two women for their silence before the 2016 election.
2024 election: Trump denied wrongdoing and noted Cohen is a convicted liar. Trump’s rivals for the GOP nomination have criticized Bragg, with some saying voters should decide the former president’s fate.
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