Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty as he was formally charged with 34 felony counts Tuesday, appearing in court for the first time since being indicted in connection with concealing hush money payments.
Trump became the first former president to be arraigned on criminal charges, appearing before Justice Juan Merchan during the brief proceeding in Lower Manhattan.
Photos of Trump sitting next to his attorneys in the courthouse show the former president with little expression on his face sitting with his hands clasped for the majority of the hearing, a contrast with an often-energized public persona. Trump was released on his own recognizance and declined to speak with reporters when exiting the courtroom.
The highly anticipated indictment, now unsealed, includes charges of falsifying business records in connection with a hush payment that Trump’s former fixer, Michael Cohen, made to adult film star Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election.
A press release from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Trump was charged with “falsifying New York business records in order to conceal damaging information and unlawful activity from American voters before and after the 2016 election.”
“During the election, TRUMP and others employed a ‘catch and kill scheme to identify, purchase, and bury negative information about him and boost his electoral prospects. TRUMP then went to great lengths to hide this conduct, causing dozens of false entries in business records to conceal criminal activity, including attempts to violate state and federal election laws,” Bragg’s office said in a press release.
Reports have been trickling out for months about the grand jury’s investigation, but Tuesday marks the first time the public — and Trump himself — are seeing the specific accusations.
The charges remain allegations, and prosecutors will now face the much higher bar of securing a conviction against the former president at trial, a process likely to stretch deep into the 2024 campaign season. Trump is not expected to appear in court again until Dec. 4.
Trump’s attorney previously vowed to try to throw out the charges before they reach a jury, although those dismissal motions are expected to be made at a later date.
Reports have been trickling out for months about the grand jury’s investigation, but Tuesday marks the first time the public — and Trump himself — are seeing the specific accusations.
The charges remain allegations, and prosecutors will now face the much higher bar of securing a conviction against the former president at trial, a process likely to stretch deep into the 2024 campaign season.
Trump’s attorney previously vowed to try to throw out the charges before they reach a jury, although those dismissal motions are expected to be made at a later date.
Trump arrived at Manhattan criminal court earlier on Tuesday, where he surrendered to the Manhattan district attorney’s office and was fingerprinted and photographed. He is expected to return to Florida later this evening, where he will deliver remarks at Mar-a-Lago.
The case, People of the State of New York v. Donald Trump, marks the first-ever criminal charges brought against a former president.
Trump’s last post to social media before surrendering to authorities seemed to reflect dismay over the process.
“Heading to Lower Manhattan, the Courthouse. Seems so SURREAL — WOW, they are going to ARREST ME. Can’t believe this is happening in America. MAGA!” he wrote at 1:22 p.m.
Trump is expected to further address the charges at a speech outside his Florida home Tuesday night.
This story was updated at 3:53 p.m.
