The American legal system officially began holding Donald Trump accountable on Tuesday as he surrendered for arrest in a New York state court and was charged with falsifying 34 business records to cover up payments he made to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
After being fingerprinted and formally registered, the disgraced ex-president filed a “not guilty” claim to all of the charges.
Trump’s Tuesday indictment has been years in the works and came after his former attorney Michael Cohen pled guilty to coordinating with Trump in 2016 to buy Daniels’s silence about a sexual encounter that she says took place in 2006.
In a statement of facts accompanying the indictment, state attorneys repeated allegations made by Cohen and others that Trump “orchestrated a scheme with others to influence the 2016 presidential election by identifying and purchasing negative information about him to suppress its publication and benefit the defendant’s electoral prospects.”
As he entered the Manhattan Criminal Court building, Trump was silent. He was not made to pose for a mugshot photo. New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Manuel Merchan denied a request from media organizations to allow video cameras in the courtroom.
“That’s a man who looks like a defendant,” Alyssah Farah Griffin, Trump’s former White House Communications Director said on CNN. “He looks somber… This looks like a man who the weight of his actions may be catching up with him and he feels out of control of the situation… He’s totally out of control.”
NBC News reported that state prosecutors have requested that the presiding judge in the trial order Trump to refrain from making vicious attacks on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is supervising the case. Before Trump’s indictment, the ex-president had referred to Bragg as an “animal,” a “racist,” and warned about potential “death and destruction” if he were to be indicted. He has also repeatedly told supporters that the prosecutors are part of a “satanic” conspiracy against him.
Shortly before he heard charges against him, Trump made a number of all-caps postings on his “Truth Social” website, complaining about the Fox cable news network and seemingly previewing a motion his legal team may file to request a change of venue from Merchan’s courtroom.
“VERY UNFAIR VENUE, WITH SOME AREAS THAT VOTED 1% REPUBLICAN. THIS CASE SHOULD BE MOVED TO NEARBY STATEN ISLAND - WOULD BE A VERY FAIR AND SECURE LOCATION FOR THE TRIAL,” Trump wrote. “ADDITIONALLY, THE HIGHLY PARTISAN JUDGE & HIS FAMILY ARE WELL KNOWN TRUMP HATERS. HE WAS AN UNFAIR DISASTER ON A PREVIOUS TRUMP RELATED CASE, WOULDN’T RECUSE, GAVE HORRIBLE JURY INSTRUCTIONS, & IMPOSSIBLE TO DEAL WITH DURING THE WITCH HUNT TRIAL. HIS DAUGHTER WORKED FOR ‘KAMALA’ & NOW THE BIDEN-HARRIS CAMPAIGN. KANGAROO COURT!!!”
After Trump was arraigned, he left the courthouse without speaking to anyone outside. According to his press staff, the former game show host will hold a news conference at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago.
Speaking to reporters following the proceedings, Joe Tacopina, one of Trump’s attorneys repeated Trump’s claims of persecution in a spittle-flecked rant.
“Today’s unsealing of this indictment shows that the rule of law died in this country,” he said. “Because while everyone is not above the law, no one is below it either. And if this man’s name was not Donald J. Trump, there’s no scenario we’d all be here today.”
During a press conference following Trump's arraignment, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg gave reporters a full timeline of events that led to the 34 counts against the former president and reiterated that in New York State, falsifying business records to defraud and conceal other crimes is a felony.
"These are felony crimes in New York State no matter who you are. We cannot and will not normalize serious criminal conduct." said Bragg.
Bragg further said that the case brought against Trump "is one with allegations like so many of our white collar cases." And when asked about the timing of Trump's indictment, Bragg pointed to his 24 tenure of investigating complex cases, saying, "**I bring cases when they are ready... [T]he case was ready to be brought, and it was brought.”
Although many other developed countries have put current and former chief executives on trial, Trump’s indictment for his porn star payoffs is the first of its kind in American history. President Joe Biden has declined to comment on the proceedings against Trump.
“The President’s going to focus on the American people like he does everyday. This is not something that’s a focus for him,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a Tuesday briefing. “He is going to focus on things like making sure we continue to lower prices for the American people. Of course, this is playing out on many of the networks here on a daily basis for hours and hours, so obviously he will catch part of the news when he has a moment to catch up on the news of the day, but this is not his focus for today.”
“I believe that Donald Trump will have a fair trial that follows the facts and the law,” Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) wrote in a Twitter post after Trump had surrendered to authorities. “There’s no place in our justice system for any outside influence or intimidation in the legal process. As the trial proceeds, protest is an American right, but all protests must be peaceful.”
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), a known critic of the 45th president said in a statement that while no one is above the law, he believes that Bragg’s indictment against Trump is an “overreach” that “sets a dangerous precedent for criminalizing political opponents” .
“I believe President Trump’s character and conduct make him unfit for office,” said Romney. “Even so, I believe the New York prosecutor has stretched to reach felony criminal charges in order to fit a political agenda. No one is above the law, not even former presidents, but everyone is entitled to equal treatment under the law.”
Hours after his arraignment hearing, Trump returned to Florida to hold a press conference of his own that played more like a campaign rally rather than a direct response to his indictment.
“This is a persecution, not an investigation,” Trump told a roaring crowd of supporters from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Trump repeatedly spoke of his innocence and alluded to his indictment being devoid of any wrongdoing or criminal activity, disparaging Bragg as a “failed district attorney” whose case against a former president has no basis.
Trump claimed, “The criminal is the district attorney because he illegally leaked massive amounts of grand jury information for which he should be prosecuted.”
TYT National Correspondent Matthew Sheffield reports about politics, media, and technology. You can follow him on Twitter or Mastodon.
TYT Washington Correspondent Candice Cole was previously a correspondent and senior White House producer for the Black News Channel and has worked at a number of local news outlets. You can find her on Twitter @CandiceColeNews.