Trump pleads not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records; 'trial could start in Jan 24'
Trump pleaded not guilty in a packed Manhattan courtroom to 34 counts of falsifying business records and conspiracy for his alleged role in hush money payments to two women toward the end of his 2016 presidential campaign, CNN reported.
Donald Trump indictment updates: In a major development, former President Donald Trump surrendered to authorities Tuesday at a Manhattan courthouse ahead of his arraignment on criminal charges stemming from a hush money payment to a porn actor during his 2016 campaign.
Trump pleaded not guilty in a packed Manhattan courtroom to 34 counts of falsifying business records and conspiracy for his alleged role in hush money payments to two women toward the end of his 2016 presidential campaign. According to media reports, a US judge said Trump's trial could start in January 2024.
"The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about February 14, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an invoice from Michael Cohen dated February 14, 2017, marked as a record of the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization," read the indictment.
Check Donald Trump's Indictment
Soon after reaching the court, 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."
Ahead of the major development, police said it already made an effective mechanism to counter his supporters from taking laws into their hands, as witnessed in the historic January 6 Capitol Building attack.
Trump, 76, had once started his career in New York, where he made tremendous economic growth-- from building Trump Tower, an airline to a number of casinos-- before marrying three times.
This is the same city which made an extraordinarily rich Republican to the 45th US President. Irrespective of all his fortune, the city is set to witness an extraordinary moment in American history and a remarkable reckoning for a former president.
According to his lawyers, the Republican leader Trump will plead not guilty and is expected to enter the plea himself, as is standard in the court.
Trump, a former reality TV star, has been hyping that narrative to his political advantage, saying he raised more than $8 million in the days since the indictment on claims of a “witch hunt.” His campaign released a fundraising request titled “My last email before arrest” and he has repeatedly assailed the Manhattan district attorney, egged on supporters to protest and claimed without evidence that the judge presiding over the case “hates me” — something his own lawyer has said is not true.
Trump is scheduled to return to his Palm Beach, Florida, home, Mar-a-Lago, on Tuesday evening to give remarks, punctuating his new reality: submitting to the dour demands of the American criminal justice system while projecting an aura of defiance and victimhood at celebratory campaign events. At least 500 prominent supporters have been invited, with some of the most pro-Trump congressional Republicans expected to attend.
Will Trump be eligible for the 2024 elections?
A conviction would not prevent Trump from running for or winning the presidency in 2024.
Inside the Manhattan courtroom, prosecutors led by New York’s district attorney, Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, are expected to unseal the indictment issued last week by a grand jury. This is when Trump and his defense lawyers will get their first glimpse of the precise allegations against him.
The indictment contains multiple charges of falsifying business records, including at least one felony offence, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press last week.
After the arraignment, Trump is expected to be released by authorities because the charges against him don’t require that bail be set.
Stormy Daniels -- The lady behind all chaos
The investigation is scrutinizing six-figure payments made to porn actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Both say they had sexual encounters with the married Trump years before he got into politics. Trump denies having sexual liaisons with either woman and has denied any wrongdoing involving payments.
The arraignment will unfold against the backdrop of heavy security in New York, coming more than two years after Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in a failed bid to halt the congressional certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s win.
Also Read: Amid Trump's surrender reports, officials say he will deliver remarks on Tuesday