Trump pleads not guilty to 34 criminal charges in New York

Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, as Manhattan prosecutors accused him of orchestrating payments to two women before the 2016 US election to suppress publication of their sexual encounters with him.

In his first social media post since his arraignment at a Manhattan court earlier on Tuesday, the former US president wrote on 'Truth Social' that "The hearing was shocking to many in that they had no “surprises,” and therefore, no case. Virtually every legal pundit has said that there is no case here. There was nothing done illegally!"

Prosecutors in Manhattan allege that Trump - the first sitting or former US president to face criminal charges - falsified business records to conceal a violation of election laws during his successful 2016 campaign.

The two women were adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal.

Wearing a dark blue suit and red tie, Trump sat, subdued, with his hands folded at the defence table as he entered his plea flanked by his lawyers.

"Not guilty," Trump, 76, said when asked how he pleaded.

Trump said nothing as he entered the courtroom or when he left roughly an hour later.

 

"Never thought it could happen": Trump gives speech in Florida after facing indictment court

Hours after being charged in a New York court on Tuesday, Trump said that he was the victim of election interference and lashed out at New York prosecutor Alvin Bragg for bringing criminal charges against him.

"I never thought anything like this could happen in America," Trump told supporters gathered at his Mar-a-Lago retreat in Palm Beach, Florida. "The only crime that I've committed has been to fearlessly defend our nation against those who seek to destroy it."

He added, "Our elections are like those of a third world country and now this massive election interference at a scale never seen before in our country, beginning with the radical left George Soros backed prosecutor, Alvin Bragg of New York, who campaigned on the fact that he would get President Trump."

In a subdued tone, Trump reviewed all the various legal cases against him, from the handling of classified documents that were taken to Mar-a-Lago when Trump moved out of the White House in early 2021, and the election interference case he is facing in Georgia from the 2020 election.

The various legal predicaments are entangling Trump as he makes another run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.

'We have one mission and we'll achieve that mission' - Trump lawyer departing courthouse

Media surrounded Joe Tacopina, a lawyer for Trump, as he left a Manhattan courthouse following the former President's arraignment.

"This to me, quite frankly, is the best team I've ever worked with," Tacopina said. "The lawyers, I'm honoured to work with these guys. It's a family. It's a team. And we have one mission, and we’ll achieve that mission.”

Representatives from the media followed the lawyer outside the courthouse until police blocked them from proceeding further.

Taken together, the charges carry a maximum sentence of more than 100 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.

While falsifying business records in New York on its own 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.

'Everyone stands equal before the law'. Manhattan DA details charges against Trump

Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, said the charges brought against Trump are based on false Statements made to cover up other crimes, considered a felony under New York law.

During a news conference following Trump's arraignment, Bragg referred to three payments made to people who claimed to have negative information about Trump, including $130,000 to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

Bragg said his office gathered more evidence on Trump's business dealings than the previous Attorney's office, allowing him to bring the case forward.

The indictment, unsealed after Trump's court appearance along with a statement of facts, alleged that Trump and others violated election laws through a scheme to suppress the publication of negative information about him ahead of the 2016 US election. 

The judge set the next court hearing for Dec. 4 and did not issue a gag order on any of the parties.

"Quite a homecoming" for Trump, analyst says

Manhattan District Attorney Bragg's team appears to have presented a solid case, said Cheryl Bader, an associate law professor at Fordham University in New York.

"Alvin Bragg is a methodical, careful, experienced prosecutor and I'm sure that he has really carefully combed all the evidence and thought about how he needs to corroborate evidence, because, look, he has a potentially flawed witness in Michael Cohen -- he's admitted to lying and changing his story, he's a convicted felon -- and so he is open to cross-examination so I think we'll find that Bragg has made sure to get, you know, text messages, audio calls, lots of documents that will support and corroborate his testimony," she said.

Bader said prosecutors will have to prove to a jury that Trump intended to break election law even though he is not criminally charged with doing so.

“Bragg wants jurors that are willing to go through the layers of this prosecution because they have to be willing to look through and see that this is a sort of a technical accounting violation, but yet the underlying crime itself, whether it be, you know, the, you know, tax laws or election law crimes, what it really comes down to is Trump trying to deceive the electorate and he wants them to care about that," she said.

Trump faces a separate criminal probe by a county prosecutor in Georgia into whether he unlawfully tried to overturn his 2020 election defeat in the state. He also faces two US Justice Department investigations led by a special counsel into attempts to overturn the 2020 election results and his handling of classified documents after leaving office.

Mixed reaction in New York, after Trump's court appearance

The indictment of former President Donald Trump divided opinion in the city where he appeared in court on Tuesday. 

Dan McCool, 41, originally from Boston, told Reuters "Well a lot of people are pretty tired of Trump and a lot of people feel like this circus needs to end at some point and they want to tune out, which I can totally understand. I think that there's just very few days in American life where we do get to go and see if the justice system is working and whether people are actually not above the law."

Trump supporter Stephanie Lu turned out wearing a MAGA baseball cap and said "They brought up this case to humiliate him, to stop him from running. This is sheer political persecution which is very dangerous for our country."

She added "Of course, he's innocent. Not only is he innocent, he sacrificed his billionaire lifestyle to save this country. He doesn't have to be a president, he lived a good life before this. Look what happened to him once he was elected - impeachment, Russia hoax."

Alexander Santos, 18, from Queens, told Reuters "I did expect the charges to come, mainly because online the former president has been spewing vitriol and arguably nonsense and I feel like the charges brought upon him are appropriate."