New York/Washington: Donald Trump, the first former US President to be criminally charged, has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records at his arraignment in a Manhattan court on charges relating to hush money payments made to a porn star before the 2016 presidential election.
The 76-year-old former president was arrested when he arrived to surrender at the Manhattan Criminal Court on Tuesday.
Trump, who became the first former US president to be indicted, arrested and arraigned on criminal charges, pleaded not guilty to 34 criminal charges of falsifying business records in person before State Supreme Court Justice Juan M Merchan.
Wearing a dark blue suit and red tie, a stone-faced Trump walked into the tightly-guarded courtroom with his steps heavy and slow and said “not guilty” in a firm voice while facing the judge.
He sat silently throughout almost the entire proceedings and only spoke when he was required to, either by pleading not guilty or by answering to the judge when addressed directly.
Speaking outside court after the arraignment, Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche said that his client is “frustrated” and “upset.”
He accused the prosecutor of turning a “completely political issue” into a “political prosecution.”
On the charges against Trump, Blanche said: “we’re going to fight it, fight it hard.”
The historic indictment against Trump, was unsealed on Tuesday, providing the public and Trump’s legal team with details about the charges against him for the first time.
It includes charges of falsifying business records in connection with a hush payment that Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen made to porn star Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 presidential election.
Prosecutors alleged Trump was part of an unlawful plan to suppress negative information, including an illegal payment of USD 130,000 that was ordered by the defendant to suppress the negative information that would hurt his presidential campaign.
The reason he committed the crime of falsifying business records was in part to “promote his candidacy,” the indictment alleges.
Trump hid reimbursement payments to Cohen by marking monthly checks for “legal services,” according to the statement of facts, in a deal the two worked out in the Oval Office.
The payments stopped after December 2017, according to the document.
Trump has denied all wrongdoings in connection with the payments made to 44-year-old Daniels.
Trump left the Manhattan courtroom after his arraignment on Tuesday without making any statement.
The next in-person hearing date for Trump’s case is set for December 4 in New York, roughly two months before the official start of the 2024 Republican presidential primary calendar.
Trump flew back back to his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida, where he addressed a crowd in a roughly 25-minute speech.
He repeated many of his campaign talking points and argued that he has been the victim of a Democratic conspiracy to tank his re-election bid.
Trump said he “never thought anything like this could happen in America” on Tuesday night after he was arraigned in a New York courtroom.
“It’s an insult to our country,” he said.
“The only crime that I have committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it,” Trump said.
He criticised the indictment levelled against him, saying he is “going through a fake investigation” that “turned out to be a sham.”
“Let me be as clear as possible: I am Innocent. The only offense I have committed is to defend America from those who seek to destroy it. What we’ve witnessed is election interference in the highest order,” he said.
“Let me assure you I have never been more determined than I am right now. They will not beat me. They will not break me. They will not stop me from fighting to save this country. The more they try to frame me, slander me, and destroy me, the stronger my resolve to complete our mission,” Trump said.
He did not even spare the judge Juan Merchan who is overseeing his case.
The former president alleged that he is a “Trump hating judge” with the “Trump hating wife” and family “whose daughter works for Kamala house and now receives money from the Biden Harris campaign”.
Trump’s speech came after the judge did not place a gag order on him but warned him that the issue would be revisited if the ex-president continued with his heated rhetoric about the case.
A gag order would have prohibited Trump, his attorneys, other parties and witnesses from speaking about the case publicly.
The former president earlier arrived at the specially secured Manhattan courthouse in an eight-car motorcade. He was arrested as he arrived at the court.
Shortly after Trump was put under arrest, his campaign released a mugshot picture of him on a T-shirt saying not guilty.
President Joe Biden did not respond to questions from reporters when asked about Trump’s arraignment.
Trump is currently the front-runner among all declared and potential contenders for the 2024 Republican White House nomination. But there is nothing in US law that prevents a candidate who is found guilty of a crime from campaigning for and serving as president — even from prison.
Trump was twice impeached by the House of Representatives. He was acquitted by the Senate both times.
Hours before his arraignment, Trump sent an email to his supporters, which he claimed was the last one before his arrest, saying that the United States is becoming a “Marxist Third World” country and took to social media to question the fairness of the judiciary.
“My last email before my arrest,” Trump said in the subject line of the email.
The indictment was quickly criticised by Trump’s Republican allies.
“Trump is a textbook on positive thinking, he can convert any grave situation against him, to his best possible advantage. He will convert this week’s New York case, as a stepping stone to win back the White House in 2024,” Al Mason, a die-hard supporter of the former president, said in a statement.
Since news of his indictment first broke, the Trump campaign has raised millions and his poll numbers are skyrocketing, he said.
“God is with President Trump. He is a very good man. He will emerge even stronger after his arraignment today. In fact, this arrest of Trump is a blessing in disguise for Trump,” Mason said.
