Under tight security, police will escort the former president through New York City to the courthouse on Tuesday.
Former US President Donald Trump consulted with lawyers at New York’s Trump Tower as he prepares to face historic criminal charges on Tuesday.
He is being investigated for allegedly concealing a payment, shortly before the 2016 presidential election, to buy the silence of a former porn star who claims to have had sex. He denies all wrongdoing.
Additional security measures are in place as authorities await protests outside the Manhattan courthouse on Tuesday.
Trump, 76, is the first former US president to become a defendant in a criminal case.
“WITCH HUNT,” the Republican wrote on Truth Social, his social networking platform, shortly before leaving his Florida residence for New York on Monday — a trip that was widely covered on American television.
On Tuesday morning, dozens of police and law enforcement officials, as well as Secret Service agents, are expected to escort Trump through the streets of New York to the courthouse.
The charges against him will be released in full during the hearing, scheduled for 3:15 pm (2:15 pm local time).
The former president is expected to appear first in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office. And then he attends the first court hearing of the case, which means the charges against him will be read and he will plead guilty or not guilty before a judge.
Trump’s lawyers have already said he will plead not guilty.
Joe Tacopina, of the legal team defending the former president, has promised that any charges will be fought vehemently.
“He’s someone who’s going to be ready for this fight,” Tacopina told ABC’s This Week last Sunday.
“We’re ready for this fight. And I’m looking forward to riding this one as soon as possible to take him out.”
Trump will not be handcuffed, but Tacopina added that other details of the hearing remain a mystery.
“It’s unprecedented … I just don’t know what to expect,” she said.
“What I hope is we get in and out of there as quickly as possible, whatever… a typical hearing where we stand in front of the judge, say ‘not guilty,’ set timelines for filing motions and all that. .. and let’s go on…on and out of there.”
Trump is under investigation over his former lawyer, Michael Cohen’s wire transfer of $130,000 to former porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
He denies ever having sex with Daniels.
Paying to buy someone’s silence isn’t considered illegal, but the Manhattan District Attorney is investigating whether company documents were falsified to cover up the payment.
Trump faces at least one criminal charge in the case, according to US media. But some reports suggest there are up to 30 charges.
The media lobbied Judge Juan Merchan to allow cameras into the courtroom — a motion opposed by Trump’s legal team, which said it “would create a circus-like atmosphere.”
But on Monday evening, Judge Merchan ruled that some photographers will be allowed to take pictures for a few minutes before the formal start of the hearing.
The expectation is that the former president will be released on bail and will return this Tuesday night to his residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, where he plans to make a statement at 9:15 pm (8:15 pm local time).
His trip from Palm Beach to Manhattan on Monday was followed closely by millions.
Trackers followed his plane — painted red, white and blue with “Trump” written in large letters on the side — during the nearly four-hour flight from West Palm Beach to LaGuardia Airport in Queens, New York.
The intersection around Trump Tower, the former president’s Manhattan residence, was crowded with New Yorkers and tourists waiting for him.
Dozens of news crews camped out in every available corner, while at least five cable news helicopters circled Fifth Avenue.
Trump greeted reporters and crowds before entering the heavily guarded skyscraper shortly after 5:15 p.m. (4:15 p.m. local time).
He spent Monday night at Trump Tower consulting with counsel, a team that has grown to include former federal prosecutor Todd Blanche, a white-collar crime defense attorney who previously represented former Trump campaign chairman Trump Paul Manafort.
Trump’s 2024 campaign for the White House has raised more than $8 million since news of his indictment broke last week, according to his team.
At a press conference on Monday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams warned all potential “rioters” to “control themselves.”
Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene plans to hold a pro-Trump rally near the courthouse on Tuesday.
Unlike in the days leading up to the riot by Trump supporters on the Capitol in 2021, New York authorities say they have seen no flow of protesters into the city in recent days.
US President Joe Biden told reporters on Monday that he is not concerned about the unrest in New York:
“I have faith in the New York Police Department.”
Source: Terra
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