Trump attorney Susan Necheles has confirmed that the former President will be taken to court in Manhattan for arraignment on Tuesday.
At that point, Trump will be presented with the charges and will likely enter a plea.
The former President will also reportedly experience the usual steps like fingerprinting and being photographed for a mugshot, as well as appearing in court.
Trump reportedly faces more than 30 counts related to business fraud after being indicted by a Manhattan grand jury for his role in hush money payments ahead of the 2016 Presidential election.
Grand jury proceedings are secret, but a source familiar with the case told CNN that a witness gave about 30 minutes of testimony before it voted to indict Trump.
Trump released a statement in response to the indictment claiming it was “Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history.”
“I believe this Witch-Hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden,” the statement reads in part. “The American people realize exactly what the Radical Left Democrats are doing here. Everyone can see it…”
The indictment comes after former Trump attorney and self-described “fixer” Michael Cohen testified twice before the grand jury.
Cohen had pleaded guilty in 2018 to federal crimes and served prison time for his role in the Daniels’ payoff of $130,000, a campaign contribution violation during the 2016 election cycle, since it was made in service of the Trump campaign to keep Daniels quiet just ahead of Election Day, and $130,000 exceeded the federal limit.
Trump has consistently denied all wrongdoing and attacked District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, accusing him of leading a politically motivated prosecution. He has also denied any affair with Daniels, who had been looking to sell her story of a tryst with the then-GOP Candidate during the 2016 campaign.
However, Daniels’ hush money payment came after former Playboy model Karen McDougal was paid $150,000 in 2016 by the National Enquirer for her story about having had a 10-month affair with Trump in the mid-2000. The tabloid never ran her story but the payment kept McDougal from selling it to any other media outlet, in a practice called “catch and kill.”
Trump has also denied having had an affair with McDougal, but former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker—whom Cohen tried but failed to get to also buy Daniels’ story in 2016—testified before the Manhattan grand jury on March 27.
Security in New York City was beefed up Thursday in anticipation of a potential Trump indictment. U.S. Secret Service had already been coordinating with the NYPD to discuss logistics, including court security as well as how Trump would potentially surrender for booking and processing.
“This evening we contacted Mr. Trump’s attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan D.A.’s Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal,” the District Attorney’s office said in a statement Thursday. “Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected.”
The criminal indictment of a former U.S. President is an unprecedented act in U.S. history. An indictment in Manhattan could potentially open the door for other prosecutors as Trump is under criminal investigation not just in New York, but also in Georgia and the federal government for his role in attempts to overturn the 2020 election and his mishandling of classified documents after he left the White House.
