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Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in a Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday, when he became the first former president in U.S. history to face criminal prosecution.
The charges were handed down in an indictment by a grand jury that was convened by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who said in a statement that Trump “repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal crimes that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election.”
Trump entered his not-guilty plea at an arraignment hearing that capped a day of spectacle surrounding his surrender at Manhattan Criminal Court. His Secret Service motorcade left Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan for the courthouse shortly after 1 p.m., cutting through New York traffic with a police escort as spectators looked on. When his motorcade arrived, Trump waved to cameras and the gathered crowd before entering the courthouse to turn himself in.
More than an hour after arriving, Trump entered the courtroom where a judge was overseeing his arraignment hearing. No video recording was allowed in the courtroom, but a handful of photographers were briefly permitted to take pictures. One photo showed Trump seated at the defense table, flanked by his attorneys. He was in the courtroom for another hour before he was released and swiftly departed in his motorcade.
The case could have serious ramifications for Trump’s ongoing bid for the White House as it unfolds over the coming months. He has maintained his innocence and denounced the Manhattan district attorney’s probe as a politically motivated “witch hunt.”
The former president is expected to then be released and return home to Florida, where he is set to deliver remarks to supporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Tuesday evening.
Trump attorney Tacopina says talk of a change of venue is “premature”
Trump attorney Joe Tacopina told reporters Tuesday that any talk of a change of venue is “premature,” hours after the former president posted to his social media site that the case should be moved to Staten Island.
“We’re not PR consultants, we’re not social media consultants,” Tacopina said when asked about the former president’s use of social media to theorize about his case.
Tacopina said his client was being targeted because of politics. “Any other defendant wouldn’t be here today,” Tacopina said.
Indictment alleges Trump orchestrated scheme to suppress damaging stories
In the indictment and an accompanying statement of facts, prosecutors said Trump “orchestrated” a scheme to keep damaging stories from public view, one that prosecutors say continued into Trump’s presidency.
“During the [2016] election, TRUMP and others employed a ‘catch and kill’ scheme to identify, purchase, and bury negative information about him and boost his electoral prospects”, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said in a news release along with the indictment. “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.”
The Manhattan district attorney says Trump concealed his “catch and kill” scheme through false business entries from August 2015 to December 2017.
The indictment focuses on three payments that allegedly led to the falsification of records: a $30,000 payment to a former Trump Tower doorman who claimed Trump had a child out of wedlock; $150,000 paid to a woman, known to be former Playboy model Karen McDougal, in exchange for her story about an alleged affair; and a $130,000 payment made on Trump’s behalf to Stormy Daniels by Trump’s attorney Michael Cohen.
After the 2016 election, prosecutors say Trump reimbursed Cohen through a series of checks from a trust and his bank account that were processed through the Trump Organization and disguised as covering legal expenses. The Manhattan D.A. said 11 checks were issued for a “phony” purpose.
“In total, 34 false entries were made in New York business records to conceal the initial covert $130,000 payment,” the D.A.’s office said. “Further, participants in the scheme took steps that mischaracterized, for tax purposes, the true nature of the reimbursements.”
Read the full Trump indictment charging him with 34 felony counts
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office released the unsealed indictment shortly after Trump left the courthouse. Read it in full below:https://www.scribd.com/embeds/636099588/content?view_mode=slideshow#amp=1Donald J. Trump Indictment by Stefan Becket onScribd
Trump pleads not guilty to 34 counts
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records included in the indictment, according to CBS News’ Scott MacFarlane, who was in the courthouse for the arraignment.
Trump left the courtroom shortly before 3:30 p.m. and quickly departed the courthouse in his motorcade.
Trump doesn’t speak as he heads into courtroom for arraignment
Former President Donald Trump makes his way inside the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse in New York on April 4, 2023.ED JONES/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
After being processed, cameras spotted the former president, free of any handcuffs, somberly making his way into the courtroom where his arraignment is being held. He didn’t speak to reporters gathered in the hallway.
How Trump’s arraignment will likely play out
After being processed, Trump is set to appear in court before Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing his arraignment. At the hearing, a court clerk will read the charges against Trump, at which point the indictment will be unsealed. Trump’s attorneys could ask the judge to pause the proceedings to review the charges. He will then plead not guilty, according to his lawyers.
All of this will play out behind closed doors, since Merchan ruled that no video recordings would be permitted. A handful of still photographers will be allowed to take pictures briefly before the proceedings.
The former president will not be in handcuffs, and he is almost certain to be released at the end of the hearing given the nature of the expected charges. There are currently no plans for Trump to speak until this evening when he is back in Florida, but that could change.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is set to speak about the case at a press conference after Trump’s arraignment.
Trump posts on Truth Social: “Seems so SURREAL”
Trump appeared to post on his social media platform Truth Social as he headed downtown to face criminal charges. He left Trump Tower shortly before 1:15 p.m. ET, and posted on Truth Social at 1:22 p.m. He arrived at the courthouse a few minutes later.
“Heading to Lower Manhattan, the Courthouse,” the post said. “Seems so SURREAL — WOW, they are going to ARREST ME. Can’t believe this is happening in America. MAGA!”
Trump arrives at courthouse for processing and arraignment
Trump’s motorcade arrived at the courthouse in lower Manhattan, where he is surrendering to authorities for processing. He is due in court at 2:15 p.m. for arraignment, when the charges against him will be unveiled.
News helicopters captured his motorcade cutting through mostly empty New York streets as it made its way to the courthouse, a few miles south of Trump Tower. Cameras spotted Trump getting out of his SUV and waving to the crowd as he went into the building.Former President Donald Trump arrives at Manhattan Criminal Courthouse in New York City on April 4, 2023.EDUARDO MUNOZ / REUTERS
Trump was set to be brought to the seventh floor so he will be read his rights and fingerprinted.
At arraignment, CBS News legal analyst Rikki Klieman noted that Trump’s team might want to pause the proceedings to read the charge or charges against him before entering a plea.
1:10 PM
Trump leaves Trump Tower for courthouse
News cameras spotted Trump leaving Trump Tower and getting into an SUV. His Secret Service motorcade then departed for the courthouse in lower Manhattan, where he will be taken into custody and processed on criminal charges before his first court appearance.
Protesters descend on park near courthouse ahead of Trump arraignment
Supporters of former President Donald Trump gather outside of the Manhattan Criminal Court before his arraignment on April 4, 2023, in New York City.SPENCER PLATT/GETTY IMAGES
A small park built on a site that was once a swampy, sewage-filled pond is ground zero for the frenzy surrounding Trump’s expected surrender.
Hundreds of onlookers, protesters, journalists and a few attention-seeking politicians swarmed into the confines of Collect Pond Park, which sits across the street from the criminal courthouse where Trump was to be arraigned.
The crowd is small, by the standards of New York City protests, which routinely draw thousands. And fears that unruly mobs might force police to shut down swaths of the city proved to be unfounded, with security measures mostly disappearing within a couple of blocks.
But within the park and the surrounding sidewalks, there was plenty of chaos.
Metal barricades separated Trump supporters from anti-Trump protesters, and police stepped in to break up small skirmishes. Journalists, some of whom had taken turns waiting in line all night to reserve a coveted seat in the courtroom, pressed in on notable figures who appeared.
Whistles and jeers from anti-Trump protesters nearly drowned out remarks by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, who had come to support Trump. But she drew cheers from the pro-Trump contingent before making a fast exit as journalists jostled for position around her.Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene walks through the crowd gathered outside the courthouse where former President Donald Trump will arrive for his arraignment on April 4, 2023, in New York City.DREW ANGERER/GETTY IMAGES
Also on hand to support Trump was Rep. George Santos, the besieged Republican congressman facing multiple investigations into lies about his biography that he told while running for office.
“I’m not here for the cameras,” he insisted to reporters. “I want to support the president, just because I think this is unprecedented, and it’s a bad day for democracy.”
BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 12:23 PM
How Trump’s legal team is approaching his arraignment
CBS News legal contributor Jessica Levinson joined Anne-Marie Green and Vladimir Duthiers to discuss the Trump legal team’s strategy ahead of the former president’s arraignment in a Manhattan courtroom.
Rose Rambles... 
Did you expect anything different? I did, real patriots instead of feds or military showing up. They were patriots? Twitter will have a field day.
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Mmm…”this” is going to go on a bit longer…🌹😊🎉
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