After an investigation into hush money payments to a porn star, Donald Trump, the former US president and front-runner for the Republican nominee in 2024, entered a not guilty plea to 34 felony charges of falsifying company records on Tuesday.
When Trump, 76, waved to the audience gathered outside the courthouse after being taken there in a motorcade from his New York apartment at Trump Tower, he was dressed in a dark blue suit and a crimson tie and showed no expression on his face.
When he entered his plea, accompanied by his attorneys, Trump sat with his hands folded.
Trump responded when asked how he pled, “Not guilty.”
He is the first American president, living or dead, to be charged with a crime.
According to New York law, the charges collectively entail a maximum jail term of 136 years, although if he is found guilty at trial, the actual prison term would almost definitely be far lower.
While altering company documents in New York is a misdemeanour punished by no more than a year in jail on its own, doing so in order to further or hide another crime elevates it to a felony punishable by up to four years in jail.
Trump, who has claimed that the accusations are politically motivated, made a fist motion to reporters as he left Trump Tower.
Trump entered the courtroom for the arraignment hearing while walking past cops and via a judicial hallway while wearing a solemn expression. In a courtroom snapshot obtained with the judge’s approval, Trump could be seen seated at the defence table, surrounded by his attorneys.
The allegations against Trump have not yet been made public, but a Manhattan grand jury indicted him last week in a case involving a 2016 hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.
From his motorcade, Trump posted on social media: “Heading to Lower Manhattan, the Courthouse. Seems so SURREAL – WOW, they are going to ARREST ME. Can’t believe this is happening in America.”
Before an arraignment hearing before Judge Juan Merchan, Trump was scheduled to go to the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. A defendant can enter a plea after hearing the charges at an arraignment. According to a tweet from a New York Times reporter, Trump had his fingerprints taken but no mugshot was taken.
Trump continued to criticise Merchan in additional social media posts before the arraignment. Merchan oversaw the trial last year where Trump’s real estate business was found guilty of tax evasion.
In an effort to deprive Democratic President Joseph Biden, who defeated him in 2020, a second term in office, Trump, who served as president from 2017 to 2021, declared in November that he will run for office again in 2024.
Trump’s attorneys had pleaded with the judge to halt all filming, photography, and radio coverage, claiming it would exacerbate “an already nearly circus-like environment.”
In New York, where he was raised, established his real estate company, and rose to fame, the businessman-turned-politician has long been a well-known personality.
In an effort to maintain order, police in the most populous U.S. city set up barricades to divide Trump supporters and opponents on a chilly, bright early spring day, albeit there were several physical altercations.
“Let’s keep it civil, folks,” a police officer told them.
At a park across from the Manhattan courtroom, hundreds of Trump fans applauded and whistled, outnumbering his opponents. The Trump detractors carried placards that said “Lock Him Up” and depicted Trump behind bars wearing a striped jail outfit.
Donald Trump, a former U.S. president, arrives in court in New York City.
Regarding the situation in New York, the White House said nothing.
“I think the American people should feel reassured that when there is an ongoing case like this one that we’re just not commenting,” White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.
Any trial is at least more than a year away, legal experts said. Being indicted or even convicted does not legally prevent Trump from running for president.
Bragg, a Democrat who led the investigation, was set to give a news conference after the arraignment.
