On criminal charges in Manhattan: Live updates
The former president is expected to be charged with 34 felony counts, a source says.
THE NEW YORK Tuesday will see the arraignment of former president Donald Trump in lower Manhattan on charges related to the investigation into a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. Trump is the first American president to be charged with a crime.
On Tuesday afternoon, when Trump stands before a court inside the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse, he will be charged with 34 felonies, according to a report from Yahoo News, but he won't be handcuffed, locked up in a cell, or have his picture taken.
Trump will enter a not guilty plea, according to his lawyers. Alvin Bragg, the district attorney for Manhattan, has been accused by the former president of engaging in a "witch hunt" for political gain. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., a far-right conspiracy theorist, is one of Trump's allies who has stated she will attend to oppose the president's detention.
Trump proposes relocating the trial to Staten Island
Former President Donald Trump bemoaned the court and location of his case on his Truth Social network hours before his appearance in Manhattan. Trump recommended that the trial be transferred to Staten Island, the borough in New York City with the highest Republican population, since it would be "a very fair and secure location for the trial." Throughout the trial that resulted in the Trump Organization being found guilty of 17 charges of tax fraud last year, Trump persisted in criticising the judge assigned to hear his case, claiming Juan Merchan "was an unjust disaster."
"THE JUSTICE SYSTEM HAS BEEN CRIMINALIZED BY THE RADICAL LEFT DEMOCRATS. WHAT AMERICA WAS SUPPOSED TO BEWOULD NOT BE LIKE THIS!" said Trump, who is now the subject of three other investigations into claims he tried to rig an election, handled classified information improperly, and inflated the value of real estate by millions of dollars.