Trump indictment live: ex-US president under arrest at New York court in hush money case

By Guardian - Joan E Greve and Martin Belam Tue 4 Apr 2023

Trump under arrest in New York – what we know so far

Donald Trump is now under arrest at the Manhattan courthouse where he will soon be arraigned for charges linked to a hush-money scheme during the 2016 election.

Here’s what we know so far:

• Trump’s arraignment is scheduled for 2.15 pm ET at the Manhattan criminal court. At the arraignment, Trump is expected to plead not guilty to all charges linked to hush-money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels, who claims to have had an affair with the former president. After the arraignment, Trump will likely be allowed to return home to Florida.
• New York authorities will process Trump’s arrest, and they are expected to fingerprint the former president. But it remains unclear whether Trump’s mug shot will be taken, and it appears he will not be put in handcuffs.
• Trump is scheduled to deliver remarks at his Mar-a-Lago resort at 8.15 pm ET. The former president has already aggressively dismissed any suggestion of wrongdoing on his part, and he will likely only intensify his attacks on prosecutors after being arraigned.
• No electronic devices will be allowed in the courtroom. The judge overseeing the case, New York supreme court Justice Juan Merchan, issued a ruling late last night that only a handful of still photographers would be allowed to take pictures inside the room.
• Reporters lined up outside the courthouse overnight in the hopes of getting a seat in the arraignment room. Several dozen reporters are expected to be allowed inside the room to witness the unprecedented event of a former US president formally responding to criminal charges.
• A trial may still be months away. Once Trump enters his initial plea, Merchan will likely set a schedule for pre-trial hearings, but it may take several months for the actual trial to begin.

The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.

• Updated at 18.42 BST5m ago19.05 BST

One of Donald Trump’s former White House aides also described the experience of watching his surrender to New York authorities as “surreal”.

Alyssa Farah Griffin, Trump’s former White House director of strategic communications who has severely criticized the former president over his role in the deadly January 6 insurrection, said Trump is now “the most alone [he] has been in a long time”.

“He’s not flanked by aides, lawyers, body men & so on,” Griffin said on Twitter. “He’s face to face with the American legal system that has caught up with him.”

• 19m ago18.51 BST

Moments before starting his trip to the Manhattan criminal court, Donald Trump shared a rather obvious message with his followers on the social media platform Truth Social.

“Heading to Lower Manhattan, the Courthouse. Seems so SURREAL – WOW, they are going to ARREST ME,” Trump said. “Can’t believe this is happening in America. MAGA!”

Trump has already used his Truth Social account to repeatedly attack Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg, whose office oversaw the hush-money investigation.

The former president will likely double down on those attacks tonight, when he delivers remarks at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida at 8.15pm ET.

• Updated at 18.53 BST

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Donald Trump waved to the assembled crowd as he arrived at the Manhattan courthouse where he has been arrested and will soon be arraigned.

Hundreds of journalists, security personnel, and protesters have gathered outside the Manhattan criminal court to witness the unprecedented spectacle of a former US president surrendering himself to authorities.

• 35m ago18.35 BST

Trump arrives at Manhattan courthouse for arraignment

Donald Trump has arrived at the Manhattan courthouse where he will soon be arraigned on charges linked to a hush-money scheme during the 2016 election.

Before the arraignment begins at 2.15 pm ET, Trump will be formally arrested and processed by New York authorities. He is expected to be fingerprinted, but it is unclear whether he will have his mug shot taken.

At the arraignment, Trump is expected to plead not guilty to all charges, and the judge presiding over the case, New York supreme court Justice Juan Merchan, will then likely allow the former president to return home to Florida.

The blog will have more details coming up, so stay tuned.

• 48m ago18.22 BST

As he left Trump Tower to make his way to the Manhattan courthouse where he will be arraigned, Donald Trump raised a fist to supporters waiting outside.

• 1h ago18.14 BST

Trump leaves Trump Tower for arraignment

Donald Trump has left Trump Tower to make the short trip to the Manhattan courthouse where he will be arraigned at 2.15 pm ET.

Cameras captured the former president’s motorcade traveling the four miles between Trump Tower and 100 Centre St, where an entrance has already been cleared for his arrival.

When he arrives, Trump will be formally arrested, fingerprinted and processed before appearing at his arraignment, where he is expected to plead not guilty to all charges. Stay tuned.

• 1h ago18.04 BST

Interim summary

Joanna Walters

We expect Donald Trump to depart his New York home on Fifth Avenue very soon and start to make his way to the criminal courthouse in lower Manhattan. He’s due to appear in court a little later this afternoon.

Here’s where things stand:

• A federal appeals court has rejected Donald Trump’s request to block senior aides of his, while he was president, from testifying to special counsel Jack Smith in the federal criminal inquiries into the now candidate for the Republican nomination in 2024.
• Voters in Wisconsin are casting ballots today in one of the most important elections of 2023 – a contest that will determine the ideological balance of the state’s supreme court.
• Donald Trump’s lawyer Joe Tacopina has been on television and said the former president wouldn’t plead guilty to lesser charges, even if it could resolve the case.
• Trump will be arraigned at 2.15 pm ET at a courthouse in lower Manhattan. At the arraignment, Trump is expected to plead not guilty to all charges linked to his involvement in a hush-money scheme during the 2016 election. After the arraignment, Trump will likely be allowed to return home to Florida.
• Trump is expected to be arrested and processed shortly before his arraignment. As part of his arrest, Trump will be fingerprinted and likely photographed, but his lawyer has said he does not expect Trump to be handcuffed.
• Trump is scheduled to deliver remarks at his Mar-a-Lago resort at 8.15 pm ET. The former president has already aggressively dismissed any suggestion of wrongdoing on his part, and he will likely only intensify his attacks on prosecutors after being arraigned.
• Updated at 18.25 BST1h ago17.58 BST

Court rejects Trump bid to stop top aides testifying to the special counsel - reports

Joanna Walters

Media reports coming in that a federal appeals court has rejected Donald Trump’s request to block senior aides of his while he was president from testifying to special counsel Jack Smith.

Smith is the special counsel appointed by the Department of Justice last year who is helming investigations into Trump’s alleged hiding of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and their role in fomenting the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, when extremist supporters tried to stop Congress certifying Joe Biden’s election victory over Trump.

And this:

Here’s one opinion:

• 1h ago17.44 BST

Joanna Walters

When Donald Trump arrived in New York yesterday he entered his Trump Tower skyscraper alone, with his wife, Melania, noticeably absent.

Now there are some reports that she just turned up, so we’ll bring you any other news on that as it emerges.

• 2h ago17.31 BST

Joanna Walters

Outside the criminal court building in lower Manhattan, handfuls of protesters and a scrum of media are in a brief news vacuum as they await the arrival of Donald Trump.

The former president has not left Trump Tower uptown on Fifth Avenue yet, despite some reports that he would surrender to the authorities downtown at 11 am. So we wait.

In true New York City style, there’s a lot of scaffolding around, a mix of poles and roughly painted wooden panels that end up casting shade, trapping garbage, hindering navigation on the sidewalk, and giving the location an even less salubrious environment than usual.

The interior of the building is not exactly cathedral-like splendor, either. For defendants it’s generally a sobering and dispiriting experience to be arraigned here – an arraignment being the first appearance in front of a judge after being arrested or surrendering to authorities, to hear the criminal charges against you.

The scene is colorful and a little chaotic.

Here’s “Hillary” and a fan.

Protesters:

Protesters:

• Updated at 17.47 BST2h ago17.00 BST

The Guardian’s Sam Levine is on the ground in Wisconsin, where voters are heading to the polls to choose the newest member of the state supreme court.

The court is expected to soon weigh in on whether an abortion ban dating back to 1849 should be enforced after the US supreme court ruled to overturn Roe v Wade last summer.

And abortion access appears to be weighing heavily on the minds of Wisconsin voters as they cast their ballots today:

• 2h ago16.46 BST

Some of Donald Trump’s supporters have gathered outside the Manhattan courthouse where he will be arraigned this afternoon, but a handful of the former president’s critics are also on the scene.

One anti-Trump protester was photographed holding a sign that read: “Lock him up!” During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump rally attendees frequently chanted: “Lock her up!” in reference to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton over her mishandling of sensitive government emails.

Another anti-Trump protester held a sign reading, “Trump 4 Prison”. As of now, Trump is still the frontrunner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, and the indictment does not prevent him from seeking office.

• Updated at 16.49 BST3h ago16.35 BST

It remains unclear whether Donald Trump will get his mug shot taken when he is processed by New York authorities today, but one new report suggests he will not.

Yahoo News’ Michael Isikoff reported yesterday that Trump has been charged with 34 felony counts for falsification of business records, and noted that the Manhattan district attorney’s office had decided against getting a mug shot of the former president:

[One] source said, Trump will not be put in handcuffs, placed in a jail cell or subjected to a mug shot – typical procedures even for white-collar defendants until a judge has weighed in on pretrial conditions. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office, which has been consulting with the Secret Service and New York City court officials, concluded there was no reason to subject the former president to handcuffs or a mug shot.

The Guardian’s Hugo Lowell previously reported that Trump hoped to be handcuffed because he wanted to turn the arrest and arraignment into a “spectacle”.

• Updated at 16.38 BST3h ago16.20 BST

Progressive congressman Jamaal Bowman of New York was spotted outside the courthouse where Donald Trump will be arraigned this afternoon.

Bowman told Semafor that he felt compelled to make an appearance because he wanted to push back against the rhetoric he’s heard from one of his House colleagues, far-right congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.

“She should not be here,” Bowman told Semafor’s Kadia Goba. “She should not be pushing rhetoric that is harmful and dangerous.”

          Joan E Greve - The Guardian

           Martin Belam - The Guardian

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