The former president of the United States Donald Trump pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to the 34 charges in relation to irregular payments to the porn actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign, so that she would not make public a sexual relationship between the two.
Trump, who has become the first US president to face criminal charges, appeared before Judge Juan Manuel Merchan of the New York Manhattan court shortly after turning himself in to the Prosecutor’s Office, where he was read his rights and was booked.
The former president entered the courtroom at around 2:30 p.m. local time with a clear gesture of disgust and without handcuffs.
Dressed in a light blue suit and red tie, Trump was preceded by his team of lawyers, led by Joe Tacopina, and followed by two police officers. Immediately afterward, he learned of the accusation charges, which has file number 71543-23, according to The New York Times, which adds that he did not want to answer questions from a journalist present in the room.
After his statement, he is expected to return to his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, where he promised to make a public statement.
Shortly before arriving at the prosecutor’s office, Trump had time to write on his Truth Social network that the situation seemed “surreal” to him: “Wow, they are going to arrest me. I can’t believe this is happening in the United States, ”he wrote from the vehicle that was taking him there.
