In an unprecedented moment for the United States, Donald Trump, the former US president and front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination, appeared before a Manhattan court on Tuesday to face criminal charges.
In the court, Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 criminal charges of falsifying business records after an investigation into hush money paid to a porn star.
The unsealed indictment order against Trump alleged that the former president and others violated election laws through a scheme to suppress the publication of negative information about him ahead of the 2016 US election.
This included an illegal payment of $130,000 to pornstar Stormy Daniels by Trump to suppress the negative information that would hurt his election campaign.
The reason he committed the crime of falsifying business records was in part to "promote his candidacy", prosecutors said in the court.
The prosecutors also alleged that the reason Trump committed the crime of falsifying business records was in part to "promote his candidacy."
However, when asked how he pleaded against the charges framed against him, Trump said, "Not guilty."
The former president left the court after his arraignment as judges released him from custody without pre-trial restrictions.
"We're going to fight it. We're going to fight it hard," Todd Blanche, a lawyer for Trump, told reporters after the arraignment.
The former US president was frustrated, upset and angry about the charges, Blanche said, adding that despite this, Trump was 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," Blanche added.
The next court hearing has been set for December 4. The court did not issue a gag order on any of the parties.
The charges against Trump emanate from an investigation into a hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign.
This is the first criminal case brought against a former president in American history. The indictment comes as Trump returned to the political stage with his 2024 re-election bid for the White House. Trump's arraignment (the first time when a defendant appears in court after being charged) is set to be held on Tuesday (local time) in connection to the case.
The case pertains to the $130,000 hush money payment that was made to Stormy Daniels by Michael Cohen, a now former lawyer for Trump, in October 2016, a month before the presidential election, which brought Trump to power. This was done in a way to silence Stormy Daniels about the sexual encounter claims she made.
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Source : Indiatoday
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