April 4, 2023, 2:57 PM
April 4, 2023, 2:57 PM
Former United States President Donald Trump pleads not guilty to criminal charges for bribing a porn actress, in his court appearance in the US. This is the first criminal indictment against a former US president, which he has called “surreal”.
The ex-president is accused of paying $130,000 to the porn star Stormy Daniels in the final stretch of the 2016 electoral campaign to keep quiet about an alleged extramarital relationship that occurred ten years earlier and that he has always denied.
Trump, technically in judicial custody, first appeared at the Manhattan Prosecutor’s Office, headed by prosecutor Alvin Bragg, where he underwent the usual protocol for any accused: taking fingerprints and photos for the judicial file.
Later, around 2:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. GMT), with a serious face and without answering the journalists’ questions, he went to the room where the judge of Colombian origin, Juan Merchán, will read him the charges, sealed until now, that will make him the first president to sit on the bench for a criminal process.
The press speculates that there will be about thirty, related to falsification of commercial records.
His then lawyer Michael Cohen was in charge of making the payment and the tycoon reimbursed him for the fractional sum, allegedly passing it off as professional fees.
Both the Republican magnate and his lawyers have insisted on the nonsense of the cause.
In the middle of the electoral campaign to get the Republican Party’s nomination for the 2024 elections, the 76-year-old tycoon denounces that he is the victim of a “witch hunt”.
The former president’s historic court appearance “is not a priority” for his successor Joe Biden, the White House spokeswoman said Tuesday.
“Obviously he will follow some of the news when he has a moment to catch up on the news, but this is not a priority for him,” spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said.
On the way to court, he posted another message on his Truth Social network: “It seems SURREAL” — WOW, I’m going to be ARRESTED. I can’t believe this is happening in America – MAGA!
The case of Trump, who has already been the subject of two impeachment attempts by the US Congress as president (2017-2021), is also being played out in the media.
Dozens of journalists from all over the world spent the cold night awake to secure a place in the room where they were going to learn at the same time as Trump the charges brought against him by the Manhattan prosecutor’s office.
Unlike other states, where television cameras are allowed in courtrooms, Judge Merchán made no exception on this occasion. He will only allow photographers to capture this historic moment for a few minutes before the hearing begins.
In front of the court, the New York police, on high alert, installed metal fences to separate the dozens of followers of the tycoon, harangued by the far-right congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, and a handful of detractors, in a metaphor for the political division from the country.
“Trump or death” or “Make America Great Again” (its motto, MAGA, in English), read banners, flags, caps and T-shirts of some. “Trump lies all the time” or “Lock him up,” cried opponents.
Paulina Farr came from nearby Long Island, a Republican stronghold where the former president called for the case to be moved for a “fair” trial, to “show support for our President Trump.”
The retired nurse told AFP that she had also been in Washington on January 6, 2021 when thousands of supporters stormed the Capitol, but this protest “is very different.”
In an attempt to politicize the case and motivate his followers, who have responded by sending him more than $7 million for his campaign since the indictment was announced last Thursday, the tycoon recalled on the Truth Social network what he already uses as a motto: “They’re not coming for me, they’re coming for you. I’m just in their way.”
It is “IMPOSSIBLE for me to have a Fair Trial” in New York, he added of his Democratic-ruled hometown, following prosecutor Alvin Bragg’s decision to indict him last Thursday, upholding a grand jury’s decision.
Bragg is scheduled to hold a news conference following Trump’s court hearing. The tycoon, in turn, has also announced that he will speak to the press.
The Daniels case is just one of the investigations threatening the former president, who is under scrutiny for pressuring officials to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 victory, with a recorded phone call asking the secretary of state to “find” enough votes to reverse the result.
He is also being investigated for his possible role in the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol, as well as for the handling and custody of classified documents after leaving the White House.
