Donald Trump, a former president of the United States, is in New York. On Tuesday, he will present himself for questioning in connection with the nation’s first-ever criminal indictment of a sitting or former president.
Trump’s appearance before a state courthouse is uncertain as to how it will go. Nevertheless, according to his attorneys, he will not enter a plea to the charges stemming from his $130,000 payment of hush money to a porn performer in order to quiet her about her allegation of an alleged tryst with him ten years prior, just prior to his 2016 presidential election triumph. Trump has long refuted this assertion.
Trump’s Monday trip from his Mar-a-Lago residence in the southern U.S. state of Florida to New York City was followed minute by minute by cable networks. At the West Palm Beach airport, where he boarded his private Boeing 757 decorated in red, white, and blue and bearing his name in large letters, the former president began his journey by passing ecstatic fans along the motorcade route.
At LaGuardia Airport in Queens, the former president purposely walked down the plane’s stairs by himself. He then rode in a motorcade to Trump Tower in Manhattan while sporting a blue suit and red tie.
Tuesday, Trump’s attorneys argued against having cameras in the courtroom. They said that such coverage would “exacerbate the already virtually circus-like atmosphere around this case” in a letter to the court on Monday.
A grand jury last week indicted the 76-year-old former president on more than 30 charges of criminal misconduct, according to officials familiar with the indictment. The indictment is still under seal, and the precise accusations as well as any supporting documentation may not be made public until after Trump is arraigned on Tuesday before Judge Juan Manuel Merchan in New York State Supreme Court.
Trump will probably have his mug photo taken and his fingerprints taken when he is arrested, just like any other criminal defendant. Yet according to the police, he won’t likely be paraded in front of cameras while being handcuffed because of his status as a former president.
Yet concerns persist: Will the full indictment be read out in public? Will the courtroom be open to cameras for still photos or television, as requested by media outlets? Will protesters congregate close to the courthouse, either to support Trump and voice their anger at Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for filing the charges or to cheer on a conviction? Will there be peaceful demonstrations if they happen?
