Donald Trump is set to become the first U.S. president to be criminally charged when he hands himself in to authorities in New York on Tuesday.
Trump is reportedly facing more than 30 counts relating to business fraud, including at least one felony. This is part of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation related to hush money paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
The former president denies all wrongdoing in connection to the case, including the alleged affair with Daniels. Trump has frequently attacked Bragg and his investigation.
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Trump arrived in New York from Florida on Monday ahead of his historic arraignment at the Manhattan Criminal Court. The Republican had left his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida at around 12:15 p.m. local time and headed to Palm Beach International Airport to board his private plane to fly to New York.
The former president landed at LaGuardia Airport and entered his Trump Tower complex on New York’s Fifth Avenue on Monday afternoon.
Trump is expected to surrender at the Manhattan courthouse late Tuesday morning. He is not expected to be handcuffed, nor will he be made to take part in a so-called “perp walk” in front of the press.
Once he arrives at the court, Trump is likely to be fingerprinted and could have his mug shot taken. If his booking photo is taken, it is not expected to be made public. Under New York state law, mug shots are not made publicly available.
Trump will appear for his arraignment before Manhattan’s Acting Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan at 2:15 p.m.
The indictment will then be unsealed, and Trump will hear the full list of charges against him. The former president is expected to plead not guilty to all of them.
In a ruling on Monday night, Judge Merchan said that five news photographers would be allowed to take still pictures of Trump arriving for his arraignment. However, no TV cameras will be present in the courtroom.
The photographers will then be asked to leave the courtroom once the arrangement process has begun.
The judge will determine if Trump will need to abide by any bail conditions. There is speculation that Merchan could impose a gag order against the former president to stop him speaking publicly about the case.
It is expected that Trump will not be held in custody and will be released on his own recognizance after he is formally charged on Tuesday.
“Aside from the political implications of keeping a former president in jail, he’s not facing a charge for a crime of violence. It’s hard to argue Trump is a flight risk,” criminal defense attorney Joshua Ritter told Newsweek.
Following his court appearance, Trump is expected to head back to Florida, where is planning on delivering a speech at his Mar-a-Lago resort at 8:15 p.m. on Tuesday. However, what the former president is planning to say may be potentially hampered by any gag order imposed on him by the judge.
If Trump’s case goes to trial, it is not expected to take place for a long time. He is known to try to delay legal and civil proceedings against him. Trump is expected to argue that he cannot get a fair trial in New York and attempt to push for it to be moved elsewhere.
Cases similar to Trump’s usually take more than a year to head to trial at least. The Manhattan DA’s tax-fraud case against The Trump Organization took more than 15 months to go to court once charges were filed.
Trump’s lawyers may also request the trial be put back until after the 2024 Election, where he is the favorite to be the Republican candidate.
“Whether that request would be granted is another matter. It’s impossible to understate how much such a ruling would complicate the case,” Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Ambrosio Rodriguez told Newsweek.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
