A stone-faced Donald Trump slouched in a New York courtroom as unprecedented criminal charges against him were unveiled Tuesday — the culmination of a yearslong probe by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office that experts say revealed no “secrets.”
The 76-year-old former president sat slightly hunched at the defendant’s table, flanked by his team of attorneys, as the hour-long spectacle that was his arraignment in Manhattan Supreme Court.
The usually vocal Trump, who entered and exited the 15th-floor courtroom without uttering a word, was mostly silent through the routine proceedings — except to tell Judge Juan Merchan in a firm voice: “Not guilty.”
The historic arraignment unfolded as:
- The indictment unsealed against Trump revealed he’s charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
- The charges relate to an alleged “catch-and-kill” scheme and hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal.
- Anti- and pro-Trump protesters clashed outside the courthouse Tuesday morning and journalists lined up for as long as 18 hours to secure seats in the courtroom.
- Trump posted on Truth that he “can’t believe this is happening in America” — and was warned by the judge not to “incite violence” on social media.
- The ex-prez raised his fist and waved as he entered the DA’s Office in Manhattan to get fingerprinted and officially booked on the charges. He was not handcuffed nor was his mugshot taken.
Wearing his signature dark suit and red tie, the 45th president sat with his hands folded as Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s office unsealed the 16-page indictment handed up by a grand jury last week — marking the first time a US president has been slapped with criminal charges.
“No secrets. It is what we thought it was,” Michael Bachner, a former Manhattan prosecutor and current criminal defense attorney, said of the highly anticipated indictment.
Prosecutors allege Trump and others violated election laws as part of a “catch and kill” scheme to stop the spread of negative information about him during his 2016 presidential campaign.
The allegations are tied to six-figure payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who said they had sexual encounters with Trump years earlier. The third payoff – totaling $30,000 — was made to a Trump Tower doorman who claimed to have a story about a child he alleged Trump had out of wedlock, prosecutors said.
Trump then illegally reimbursed his then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, by falsely writing off the suppression payments as a “retainer agreement,” the indictment alleges.
“The legal impediment, to the extent that they exist, will be the same impediment that we thought there were,” Bachner told The Post.
“The statute of limitations, whether or not the campaign violations are sufficient to promote or increase the filing of the false business records offense to a felony, whether the election fraud charge is sufficient under [New York State] law.”
The charges marked the culmination of a probe launched by former Manhattan DA Cy Vance Jr., Bragg’s predecessor, following Cohen’s 2018 guilty plea to federal raps tied to the payments. Trump, who was president at the time, did not face charges in the federal case.
The state investigation, continued by Bragg, gained steam in recent months, resulting in last Thursday’s indictment.
In the wake of the hearing, Bragg justified his unprecedented prosecution of Trump insisting his office “regularly do cases involving false business statements.”
“This case is about … 34 false statements made to cover up other crimes,” Bragg said. “[Trump] repeatedly made false statements on New York State business records. He also caused others to make false statements.”
Follow The Post’s coverage on Trump’s indictment
He added, “We today uphold our solemn responsibility to ensure that everyone stands equal before the law … No amount of money, and no amount of power can change that enduring American principle.”
Todd Blanche, one of Trump’s lawyers said after the arraignment that the ex-president was frustrated, upset and angry about the charges.
“We’re going to fight it. We’re going to fight it hard,” he said, adding about Trump: “But I’ll tell you what – he’s motivated. And it’s not going to stop him. And it’s not going to slow him down. And it’s exactly what he expected.”
Trump’s courtroom silence was in stark contrast to the defiant social media post he fired off as his motorcade escorted him from his Trump Tower residence to the court ahead of his surrender earlier Tuesday.
“Heading to Lower Manhattan, the Courthouse. Seems so SURREAL — WOW, they are going to ARREST ME. Can’t believe this is happening in America. MAGA!” he posted on Truth Social just moments before he turned himself in.
Flanked by Secret Service, Trump raised his fist and flashed a wave to crowds before strolling into the DA’s office to be fingerprinted and processed.
Unlike Trump’s journey to the courthouse — which was tracked live on cable TV — his hearing wasn’t broadcast to the masses after the judge ruled only a handful of photographers could snap him inside the courtroom.
The judge, who set Trump’s next court date for Dec. 4, warned Trump during his arraignment not to make any future statements that could “incite violence or create civil unrest” as the case goes before the court.
While Trump’s arraignment was largely procedural in nature, outside the court was a circus — even by Trump’s standards.
Hundreds of protesters, media and a few politicians — including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Green and George Santos — swarmed the streets around the courthouse in the lead up.
Anti-Trump protesters chanted “Trump is no above the law” as the ex-president’s black Suburban whizzed by towards the court.
Additional reporting by Kyle Schnitzer, Kevin Sheehan and Haley Brown
ncG1vNJzZmimqaW8tMCNnKamZ2Jlf3R7j21maWxfmbyvrcudZK2qpaK9bq3Rq6CvnaNis7C%2BjKewnGWRp7%2BitcanpJ6mpGQ%3D