Former President Donald Trump earned a new page in U.S. history books Tuesday, when he became the first ex-president to answer to criminal charges.
The nation’s 45th president surrendered to New York City authorities at a Manhattan courthouse, just before his arraignment hearing, NBC News reported. He was placed under arrest, fingerprinted and processed.
“Seems so SURREAL — WOW, they are going to ARREST ME. Can’t believe this is happening in America,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform before arriving at the courthouse.
BREAKING: Former President Trump steps into NYC courtroom for arraignment. https://t.co/olLnnmgWJ6 pic.twitter.com/qOz8kyqyhh
— NBC News (@NBCNews) April 4, 2023
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Dressed in a dark suit, white shirt and red tie, the embattled former president took a seat at a table between his four attorneys.
Judge Juan Merchan allowed news photographers to snap still pictures inside the courtroom before the hearing began, but video cameras were prohibited.
Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records for his alleged role in a scheme to pay hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels, so she wouldn’t go public during the 2016 presidential campaign about an extra-marital affair she said she had with Trump, which he denied.
The ex-president’s former attorney and fixer, Michael Cohen, paid Daniels $130,000.
Cohen said he was directed by Trump to make the payment. The former president said the money was for legal fees.
Related Story: Ex-Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen Says Evidence Against Former Boss Is ‘Irrefutable’
Dueling protests form outside of New York DA's office ahead of former president Donald Trump's arraignment.
Signs there are for and against Trump. They read, “Trump is a crime boss,” “Election Fraud,” “Justice Matters” and “Trump is Corrupt.” https://t.co/4NbJTl7n4C pic.twitter.com/TSx6dUkHUs
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) April 4, 2023
The Associated Press posted a copy of the indictment online.
The charges came after a grand jury, convened by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, voted to indict Trump.
Outside the courthouse, there was a chaotic scene as a massive crowd of reporters, photographers, anti-Trump and pro-Trump protesters flooded the area.
Bragg later held a news conference explaining why his office brought charges against Trump.
“No matter who you are, we cannot and will not normalize serious criminal conduct. The defendant repeatedly made false statements on New York business records,” Bragg said. “He also caused others to make false statements.”
“The defendant claimed that he was paying Michael Cohen for legal services performed in 2017. This simply was not true,” Bragg continued.
“For nine straight months, the defendant held documents in his hand containing this key lie that he was paying Michael Cohen for legal services performed in 2017. And he personally signed checks for payments to Michael Cohen for each of these nine months,” Bragg added. “In total, the grand jury found there were 34 documents with this critical false statement. Why did Donald Trump repeatedly make these false statements? The evidence will show that he did so to cover up crimes relating to the 2016 election.”
