[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text dp_text_size=”size-4″]Former US President Donald Trump surrendered to the Manhattan District Attorney’s office on Tuesday, 4 April, and will be formally charged, finger-printed, and photographed for “hush money” payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
On Friday, March 31, Trump was indicted by a New York grand jury for concealing payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign, making him the first US president to face criminal charges.
He is expected to remain in the DA’s office’s custody until he is escorted to court for an arraignment in a few hours. An arraignment is the first appearance in court before a judge to be informed of the charges against them.
Also Read: Trump becomes first ex-president to face criminal charge in US
“The Courthouse is on the way to Lower Manhattan. It appears to be SURREAL – WOW, they’re going to ARREST ME. I can’t believe this is happening in the United States “While commuting from his New York residence to the courthouse, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
Trump-Daniels Scandel
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office had launched an investigation into a $130,000 payment made to Stormy Daniels by Trump’s estranged former lawyer Micheal Cohen in exchange for her silence about a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006. Trump later reimbursed the payment.
While the former president denied the encounter, it is said to have occurred with his current wife Melania Trump and just a few months after the birth of their son, Barron.
According to the BBC, prosecutors may charge Trump with falsifying business records because the payment reimbursing Cohen was recorded as “legal fees.”
Cohen began working as an attorney for the Trump Organization in 2006 and remained there until 2018, when he was convicted and sentenced to three years in prison for tax evasion and other federal crimes.
Daniels, a well-known industry figure, claimed that she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006, after he promised her a spot on his reality show ‘The Apprentice.’
Trump and Daniels met twice more, but they never got intimate, and she eventually stopped answering his phone calls.
According to reports, Daniels tried several times to sell the story, most notably in 2011, when Trump expressed interest in running for president, but the publication backed out after Cohen threatened legal action.
However, after Trump launched a formal campaign in 2016, a behind-the-scenes video from a Trump TV show in which he described how he groped an actress on the show sparked widespread outrage and rekindled Daniels’ chances of selling the story.
However, a concerned Trump entourage was concerned about the Stormy Daniels story leaking amid the outrage and arranged for Daniels’ silence to be paid for through a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA).
Nonetheless, the story broke in 2018, and Daniels later claimed that she risked a million-dollar fine for violating the NDA, but that “it was very important to me to be able to defend myself.” Cohen testified in August of that year that the former president asked him to make the $130,000 payment.
New York situation
Trump was housed in Trump Tower prior to his arraignment. At 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time, he was escorted to the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse by an eight-car motorcade of Secret Service agents and his lawyers (11 pm IST).
While the drive from Trump’s New York City residence to the lower Manhattan courthouse takes 30 minutes, the former president arrived sooner because he will be escorted by a fleet of secret service and police officers and there will be multiple road closures due to the arraignment.
Meanwhile, New York police were on high alert for Trump’s court appearance, and Secret Service agents were seen outside Trump Tower and the Lower Manhattan court.
According to New York Mayor Eric Adams, anyone found violently protesting during Trump’s arraignment will be “arrested and held accountable, no matter who you are.”
“While some rabble-rousers may be considering coming to our city tomorrow, our message is clear and simple: ‘control yourselves,'” the mayor said.
Meanwhile, large crowds of supporters have gathered outside the Manhattan court, and Republican House Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has organised a rally.
Even though violent scenes are not expected, thousands of NYPD officers remain on standby.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
