NEW YORK (AP) — TRUMP DEFIANTLY IN MAR-A-LAGO SPEECH
Flanked by American flags, former President Donald Trump delivered a political campaign-tinged speech to cheering supporters Tuesday night at Mar-a-Lago.
Trump was defiant, referring, among other things, to his two impeachments during his presidency. He called the New York indictment the latest in a “valanche of fraudulent investigations.”
“This bogus process was brought forward solely to interfere with the upcoming 2024 election and must be withdrawn immediately,” Trump said.
JUDGE WARNS TRUMP NOT TO INCITE PROTESTS
A New York judge has warned former President Donald Trump to refrain from inciting or provoking civil unrest during Trump’s indictment in Manhattan.
Trump told Judge Juan Merchan that he pleaded not guilty, and the judge reminded him of his rights.
Merchan also warned Trump that he could be removed from the room if he was disruptive, but the former president spoke only a few times to answer questions.
His next appearance is scheduled for December. Defense lawyers requested that he be given permission not to attend the hearing in person due to extraordinary security precautions.
The judge said he would not impose a gag order at this time, but asked both sides to refrain from comments that could spark civil unrest.
Trump stood virtually motionless with his hands clasped and stared straight ahead during the proceedings, which lasted just under an hour.
TRUMP LEAVES COURT
Former President Donald Trump walked out of Manhattan courthouse after his arraignment of 34 felony counts of falsifying accounting records.
The former president did not respond to reporters’ questions about the charges and quickly left the courthouse where the hearing was held.
Trump spent about two hours inside the building to be booked and for the arraignment, where he learned the details of the criminal charges he faces in the middle of the presidential campaign.
TRUMP DECLARES INNOCENT
Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Tuesday to 34 felony counts of falsifying accounting records, according to multiple news reports.
The charges stem from payments he made during the 2016 campaign to porn actress Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about her claims that she had extramarital affairs with him.
Photos taken from inside the courthouse showed Trump sitting at a table reserved for the defendants, accompanied by his lawyers. His legal team surrounded him, with two attorneys sitting on either side of the former president.
Trump leaned forward slightly and hunched his shoulders, but did not turn to walk away from the photographers who were given permission to be in court shortly before the hearing.
WHITE HOUSE KEEPS SILENT ABOUT TRUMP CASE
With the attention of the entire United States focused on the Manhattan courthouse where Donald Trump was arraigned, the White House did everything in its power Tuesday to give the impression that it was not making the matter a high priority.
Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that “our focus right now is the American people” and evaded a direct answer when asked if President Joe Biden is following the news.
“He’ll watch the news when he has time to watch the news of the day,” Jean-Pierre said, “but that’s not his focus today.”
The official was also evasive when asked about the possibility of riots related to the criminal proceedings for the former president, especially since Trump has called protests.
“We are prepared,” the spokeswoman said.
Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy tried unsuccessfully to get Jean-Pierre to say more.
“Why don’t you have more to say about the Trump allegations?” Doocy asked. “For better or worse, this is the topic that is on everyone’s lips today, at this very moment, while we are all here. And they look here to see what the White House thinks about it.”
“I think the American people should take comfort in the fact that when there’s a case going on like this, we’re just not going to comment,” Jean-Pierre responded.
But the reporters kept trying.
“I love how you guys ask me the same question in different ways,” Jean-Pierre quipped, “you’re so smart.”
TRUMP ENTERS THE COURT ROOM
Former President Donald Trump has entered a Manhattan courtroom where he will be arraigned on charges of paying a porn actress for her silence during the 2016 election campaign.
Trump arrived at the 15th floor courtroom about 70 minutes after he entered the courthouse to turn himself in and be booked before the hearing.
Judge Juan Merchan did not authorize television cameras in the courtroom. Trump’s lawyers have said he will plead not guilty.
MANHATTAN ATTORNEY ENTERS THE COURT
Manhattan prosecutor Alvin Bragg has entered the courtroom where former President Donald Trump will hear the charges against him stemming from paying a bribe during the 2016 election campaign.
Trump has yet to appear on the 15th floor where the hearing is supposed to take place. Dressed in a navy blue suit and red tie, he entered the court building at around 12:20 p.m. to turn himself in and undergo pre-hearing processing.
TRUMP ARRIVES AT MANHATTAN COURTHOUSE
Former President Donald Trump arrived at a Manhattan courthouse where he is expected to plead not guilty to criminal charges. He entered the courthouse surrounded by Secret Service agents.
Trump’s motorcade traveled from Trump Tower followed by numerous helicopters.
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TRUMP LEAVES THE TRUMP TOWER HEADING TO THE COURT
Former President Donald Trump raised a fist and waved before leaving Trump Tower shortly after 1 p.m. Tuesday for the Manhattan courthouse about four miles away.
Trump’s lawyers have arranged for him to turn himself in there. Trump will be booked in court and not at a police headquarters as is the case with most of the detainees in New York.
A record of your name, age, date of birth, height, and weight will be created at the court, and your fingerprints will be taken. It is also possible that a police portrait will be taken of you.
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FLORIDA LAWMAN VOWS TO CONTINUE SUPPORTING TRUMP
A former Florida state legislator said he and others traveled from Orlando to New York in time for Tuesday’s hearing to send a message to former President Donald Trump: We won’t stop supporting him.
Anthony Sabatini, chairman of the Florida Lake County Republican Party, joined Trump supporters outside the Manhattan courthouse where the former president is scheduled to appear.
“This is a bad day for America, one of the worst days in American history,” he declared.
The mood among Trump supporters, however, is positive, Sabatini said. He thanked the New York police for keeping the protesters apart, those who support Trump on one side and those who are against him on the other. ___
GREENE SPEAKS TO TRUMP SUPPORTERS IN FRONT OF COURT
Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene addressed supporters of Donald Trump outside the Manhattan courthouse Tuesday morning where the former president is due to appear.
A huge crowd surrounded the Georgia representative, who was previously scorned by Republicans for her extremist rhetoric, as she made her way through the park where hundreds of spectators and reporters packed ahead of the hearing.
Greene left the place quickly after noticing the armed disturbance in the place where she was going to speak. It was not clear if she would return.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams sent the congresswoman a message Monday: “While you’re in town, be on your best behavior.”
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SANTOS SUPPORTS TRUMP IN FRONT OF THE COURT
George Santos, the Republican lawmaker facing multiple investigations for lies he told as a candidate, joins the growing crowd outside the Manhattan courthouse awaiting the impeachment hearing against former President Donald Trump.
Santos told The Associated Press that he did not plan to enter the room, but that he came to “support the president.”
“I want to support the president because I think this is unprecedented and it is a bad day for democracy,” Santos said. “What is going to stop the next prosecutor two years from now from doing the same thing to (President) Joe Biden and so on every four years? This is a bad legal precedent. And it degrades the judicial system and it’s not good for America.”
Santos has rejected calls for him to resign, including from some of his own co-religionists. He declined to answer whether he expects Trump’s endorsement in exchange for this show of support.
“I did not come for that,” he said.
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RALLY IN SUPPORT OF TRUMP
People began gathering Tuesday morning for a pro-Donald Trump rally in a park across from the New York courthouse where the former president is scheduled to be indicted.
The rally with Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene was scheduled to begin several hours before Trump’s court appearance.
Some Trump opponents also showed up, unfurling a large banner reading “Trump lies all the time.”
Trump supporters are also expected to gather outside Mar-a-Lago, his Florida residence, Tuesday night when he returns.
THE PROSECUTOR ARRIVES
Manhattan prosecutor Alvin Bragg arrived at the courthouse in New York on Tuesday morning hours before the filing of charges against former President Donald Trump.
Bragg is Manhattan’s first black prosecutor, elected in November 2021. He inherited a years-long investigation by a jury into paying money on Trump’s behalf to silence people during the 2016 presidential campaign.
After taking office, Bragg delayed impeaching Trump and expressed doubts about the strength of the case. This led to the resignation of two prosecutors who were leading the investigation.
But Bragg convened a new grand jury this year after indicting the Trump family business for tax fraud. He said that result was a “strong demarcation line” to proceed with other parts of the investigation.
TRUMP LAWYER: “THERE WILL BE NO GUILTY PLEDGE”
Donald Trump’s lawyer, Joe Tacopina, said the former president’s appearance for indictments will be brief because the process “doesn’t take a lot of time.”
“It’s not going to be a long day in court,” he told ABC.
“We know the basis of the allegation and the facts alleged in the indictment,” Tacopina said, adding that Trump will insist on his innocence.
“One thing I assure you while I am here, there will be no guilty plea in this case. That I can guarantee,” she said.
Tacopina apparently predicted that the case will be dismissed.
“I don’t think this case will go before a jury,” he said. “I think there will be a legal challenge and it should be successful.”
THE SPECTATORS APPEAR
Many reporters and onlookers lined up overnight to get a seat inside the courtroom or at least to watch Trump, who is scheduled to appear in the afternoon, walk past.
The building was surrounded by barricades, and people had to go through various security checks. The journalists camped out in tents with lawn chairs, blankets and pizza boxes.
The nation’s 45th commander-in-chief is expected to be escorted from Trump Tower in downtown New York — also surrounded by barricades — to court with a Secret Service escort.
Police were prepared for protests from supporters of Republican Trump, who is running again for the White House in 2024. He has called the grand jury’s decision to bring indictments against him “political persecution and election interference at the highest level”.
Prosecutors are investigating money paid to porn actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal to prevent them from publicly saying they had sex with him.
