Trump in New York to face criminal charges in historic court appearance

Former US president Donald Trump is set to appear in a New York court on Tuesday to face history-making criminal charges related to 2016 hush money payments, the first time in American history a former president will be arraigned.

The 45th president of the United States and the top contender for the 2024 Republican nomination, Trump will appear at the courthouse in lower Manhattan around noon for fingerprinting and processing and then go before Judge Juan Merchan to enter a plea of not guilty.

The historic arraignment was planned for 2:15 p.m. (1815 GMT) on Tuesday, but will not be broadcast live, with Judge Juan Merchan ruling that only five photographers would be allowed to take pictures for several minutes before the start of the procedures.

Though defendants charged with felonies are normally taken in handcuffs, one of Trump’s lawyers has indicated that he does not expect that to happen.

His lawyers have been quoted as saying that he will enter a plea of not guilty in what will be his first appearance in court and in front of a judge in the case.

New York Police Department (NYPD) over the weekend began erecting barricades along the edge of the sidewalks around the Trump Tower and the Manhattan Criminal Court building downtown to prevent any chaotic scenes.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams also asked potential "rabble-rousers" to behave as he expects demonstrations from Trump's supporters and critics alike.

"Our message is clear and simple: Control yourselves. New York City is our home, not a playground for your misplaced anger," Adams told reporters.

Judge Juan Merchan, who will be presiding over the courtroom that Trump is due to walk into later, also oversaw a criminal trial of the Trump Organization last December after the company was found guilty of running a criminal scheme to defraud tax authorities for 15 years. 

Trump in the dock: Security beefed up around Manhattan court ahead of arraignment

Security is beefed up in Manhattan as former US President Donald Trump is set to fly from Florida to New York City ahead of his scheduled arraignment on charges related to hush money payments before the 2016 election.

Before the indictment on Thursday, the grand jury heard evidence about a $130,000 payment the 76-year-old former president made to adult movie star Stormy Daniels in the waning days of the 2016 presidential campaign.

Daniels said she was paid to keep silent about a sexual encounter she had with Trump at a Lake Tahoe hotel in 2006. 

Prosecutors also questioned witnesses about allegations that $150,000 in hush money was previously paid to former Playboy playmate Karen McDougal.

"I honestly don't know how this is going to go — hopefully as smoothly as possible — and then we begin the battle to right this wrong," Joseph Tacopina told CNN, speaking about the arraignment.

After the arraignment, Trump is scheduled to return to Florida where he will deliver remarks from Mar-a-Lago at 8:15 pm on Tuesday (0015 GMT on Wednesday, April 5), according to his office.

The specific charges in the indictment from a Manhattan grand jury have yet to be disclosed, but reports suggest Trump would face 34 felony counts for falsification of business records.

Trump allegedly recorded the hush money as a business expense, falsifying business records.

On Monday, he took to his social media website, Truth Social, saying he was not expecting a fair trial in Manhattan, where he lived for decades.

“The Corrupt D.A. has no case,” he wrote. “What he does have is a venue where it is IMPOSSIBLE for me to get a Fair Trial (it must be changed!)”

Trump has other serious legal problems as well. He faces a trial on civil rape and defamation claims brought by the writer E. Jean Carroll in Manhattan federal court beginning on April 25.

A $250 million lawsuit brought by the New York attorney general’s office alleging he, his family and his company grossly overstated his net worth to the tune of billions of dollars is scheduled to go to trial in October.

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