Former United States President, Donald Trump on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to a 34-count charge of felony of falsifying business records.
With his arraignment, Trump became a criminal defendant – the first time in U.S. history that a sitting or former president would face such a trial.
In a Manhattan court yesterday, Trump was arraigned on criminal charges stemming from a hush money payment to a porn actress during his 2016 campaign.
A stony-faced Trump entered the courtroom, flanked by security officers and his legal team. He did not respond to reporters’ questions.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
He entered the court without anyone opening the door for him. Even the policeman who led him into the courtroom shut the door, which Trump opened by himself.
Trump sat with his hands folded as he entered his plea flanked by his lawyers.
“Not guilty,” he said when asked how he pleaded.
He was, therefore, advised of his rights by the judge.
Judge Juan Merchan also warned Trump that he could be removed from the courtroom if he is disruptive, but Trump spoke only a few times to respond to questions.
He will return to court in December, but his lawyers asked for him to be excused from attending the hearing in person because of extraordinary security proceedings.
Taken together, the charges carry a maximum sentence of 136 years in prison under New York law. But an actual prison sentence, if he is convicted at a trial, would almost certainly be far less than that.
On its own, the falsification of business records in New York is a misdemeanour punishable by no more than one year in prison. It is elevated to a felony punishable by up to four years in prison when done to advance or conceal another crime.
The former president had pumped his fist as he left Trump Tower accompanied by Secret Service agents before travelling in an eight-car motorcade down a road along the East River to the court.
As he travelled to court, he posted on his social media platform: “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!”
Wearing his signature dark suit and red tie, he turned and waved to crowds outside the courthouse building before heading inside to be fingerprinted and processed – a remarkable reckoning after years of investigations into his personal, business, and political dealings and an extraordinary moment in U.S. history.
The booking and appearance before Judge Merchan was relatively brief – though hardly routine – as Trump learned for the first time the charges against him.
TV cameras were not allowed in the courtroom.
Trump, who was impeached twice by the US House of Representatives but was never convicted in the US Senate, is the first former president to face criminal charges.
Speaking ahead of the court appearance, Trump’s lawyer Joe Tacopina told reporters: “He is strong and ready to go.”
Tacopina said in a TV chat that the former president wouldn’t plead guilty to lesser charges, even if it might resolve the case. He also said he didn’t think the case would make it to a jury.
New York police said they were ready for large protests by Trump supporters, who share the Republican former president’s belief that the New York grand jury indictment and three additional pending investigations are politically motivated and intended to weaken his bid to retake the White House in 2024. However, journalists often outnumbered protesters.
Trump, a former reality TV star, has been hyping that narrative to his political advantage, saying he raised more than $8m in the days since the indictment on claims of a “witch hunt”.
