Donald Trump case: 5 key points from ex-US President’s New York arraignment

Here are 5 points on this story:

📌 How it started: Trump arrived with his family in his home state of New York on Monday. After landing in the LaGuardia airport in his signature blue-and-red aeroplane with ‘Trump’ painted in bold letters on the side, he was taken in a motorcade to his home in the Trump Towers in Manhattan. Though there were a huge crowd of supporters, critics and media outside, he did not address them and instead opted to go straight in after a quick wave.

A supporter of former US President Donald Trump demonstrates outside Manhattan Criminal Courthouse on the day of Trump’s appearance. (Reuters)

📌 What happened in the court: On Tuesday, Trump arrived at the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse at around 12.20 pm local time (9.50 pm IST), travelling in an 8-car motorcade from his residence about 6 km away. He surrendered at the court, and was fingerprinted and processed. Clad in a signature navy blue suit and red tie, he reached the 15th-floor courtroom over an hour after he first entered the building, local media reported. Trump spoke six times in court, in one of which he told the judge that he was pleading “not guilty” to the 34 felony counts. He also said that he had been advised of his rights. The ex-President left around an hour later.

Former President Donald Trump sits at the defense table with his defense team in a Manhattan court, Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

📌 The charges: The 34 charges against Trump accuse him of hiding the hush money that Micheal Cohen paid to Stormy Daniels on his behalf as legal fees reimbursements. Of this, 11 counts relate to alleged phoney invoices submitted by Cohen, 11 others to checks written by Trump, and 12 more to account book entries on the reimbursements, as per a New York Times report.

📌 Trump’s stance: After the court appearance, Trump flew to his Florida home where he addressed a crowd of supporters. In the 25-min speech, Trump rejected the charges and painted himself a victim of the “radical left”. He also cast aspersions on the case Judge Juan Merchan, saying: “I have a Trump-hating judge with a Trump-hating family, whose daughter worked for Kamala Harris.” This came after the judge advised him in court to refrain from rhetoric that could inflame or cause civil unrest.

📌 What next: Trump’s next court appearance is due in December, but his lawyers have asked that he be excused from having to appear in person because of the extensive security required. No date has been set for a trial. While prosecutors are pushing for a date in January (before the 2024 presidential polls), Trump’s lawyers have requested it to be pushed to March.