The ex-president was indicted last week, becoming the first sitting or former president to face criminal charges
\n NEW YORK
\nDonald Trump, the ex-president and frontrunner to be Republican nominee in 2024, will appear in court on Tuesday and is set to be formally charged, finger-printed and have a mug shot taken in a watershed moment ahead of next year\u2019s presidential election.
\nTrump was indicted last week, becoming the first sitting or former president to face criminal charges, over a case involving a 2016 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. He has said he is innocent and is due to plead not guilty.
\nTrump will turn himself in on Tuesday amid tight security as demonstrations were expected for and against a man who has riled liberals and some global allies but is lauded by many white blue-collar and conservative Christian voters.
\n\u201cWe have to take back our Country and, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!\u201d Trump wrote on his Truth Social profile shortly after arriving in New York from Florida on Monday, urging supporters to donate to his campaign.
\nThe arraignment, where Trump will be in court to hear charges and have a chance to enter a plea, was planned for 2:15 pm on Tuesday.
\nTrump\u2019s lawyers opposed videography, photography and radio coverage, saying it would \u201cexacerbate an already almost circus-like atmosphere around this case\u201d, detracting from dignity and decorum.
\nJudge Juan Merchan late on Monday ruled that five photographers will be admitted before the arraignment starts to take pictures for several minutes until they must stop, with cameras allowed in the hallways of the building.
\nThe District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, who led the investigation, will later give a news conference in the afternoon.
\nTrump will return to Florida and deliver remarks from Mar-a-Lago at 8:15 pm on Tuesday, his office said.
\nThe specific charges in the indictment by a grand jury convened are due to be disclosed on Tuesday. Trump and his allies have portrayed the charges as politically motivated.
\nYahoo News late on Monday said Trump would face 34 felony counts for falsification of business records. Citing a single source briefed on Tuesday\u2019s arraignment procedures, Yahoo said none of the charges against Trump were misdemeanors.
\nProtests and popularity
\nPolice over the weekend began erecting barricades near Trump Tower – where Trump arrived on Monday after flying in from Florida – and the Manhattan Criminal Court building, with demonstrations expected at both sites on Tuesday.
\nThe city\u2019s mayor warned potential rabble-rousers to behave.
\n\u201cOur message is clear and simple: Control yourselves. New York City is our home, not a playground for your misplaced anger,\u201d Eric Adams said.
\nAsked if he was worried about unrest, President Joe Biden, a Democrat who is widely expected to seek re-election and face a potential rematch against Trump, said: \u201cNo, I have faith in the New York Police Department.\u201d
\nThe case has divided people in New York, where Trump\u2019s name is emblazoned on buildings related to his business ventures.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s a terrific day. I hope it goes well and that he is eventually found guilty,\u201d said New Jersey resident Robert Hoatson, 71, outside Trump Tower on Monday.
\nBut Trump backer Susan Miller, leaning against the metal barriers on 5th Avenue just south of Trump Tower on Monday evening, said she hoped the show of support would \u201cgive him a little strength when he goes down… to battle.\u201d
\n\u201cHe\u2019s honest as the day is long,\u201d she said, adding she planned to return on Tuesday.
\nTrump\u2019s lead has widened over rivals in the Republican Party\u2019s presidential nominating contest, according to a Reuters\/Ipsos poll released on Monday, conducted after news broke that he would face criminal charges.
\nSome 48% of self-described Republicans say they want Trump to be their party\u2019s presidential nominee, up from 44% in a March 14-20 poll. Second-place Florida Governor Ron Desantis fell from 30% to around 19%.
\nMultiple legal woes
\nThe Manhattan grand jury that indicted Trump heard evidence for months this year about a $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in the waning days of the 2016 presidential campaign.
\nDaniels has said she was paid to keep silent about a sexual encounter she had with Trump at a Lake Tahoe hotel in 2006. Trump denies having had any such relationship with her.
\nAn indictment or even a conviction do not legally prevent Trump from running for President.
\nBeefing up his legal team, Trump hired Todd Blanche, a prominent white-collar criminal defense lawyer and former federal prosecutor, to join his defense, two sources familiar with the matter said.
\nThe Manhattan investigation is just one of several legal challenges concerning Trump.
\nTrump also faces a separate criminal probe into whether he unlawfully tried to overturn his 2020 election defeat in Georgia, and two investigations by a special counsel including over his handling of classified documents after leaving office.
\nAny potential trial in the Manhattan case is still at least more than a year away, legal experts said, meaning it could occur during or after the presidential campaign.
\nTrump\u2019s campaign raised $7 million in the three days after word of the indictment emerged last Thursday, senior adviser Jason Miller said, and issued the latest in several fundraising emails, taking aim at the media\u2019s reporting of the indictment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The ex-president was indicted last week, becoming the first sitting or former president to face criminal charges NEW YORK Donald Trump, the ex-president and frontrunner to be Republican nominee in 2024, will appear in court on Tuesday and is set to be formally charged, finger-printed and have a mug shot taken in a watershed moment […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":323904,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-323896","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n