Former President Donald Trump will be arraigned Tuesday at a Manhattan court after he was indicted on Thursday on charges related to an investigation into hush money payments.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg asked Trump to surrender himself on Friday, but his lawyers told officials Secret Service needed more time to ensure security, per the Associated Press.
TRUMP INDICTED: BRAGG TELLS HOUSE GOP TO CEASE ‘UNLAWFUL POLITICAL INTERFERENCE’ IN CASE
A grand jury voted to indict Trump on Thursday, with the charges being sealed until the former president is arraigned. Trump was at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, when he was notified of the indictment.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) vowed Thursday that he would not assist in an extradition request of Trump to New York due to “the questionable circumstances at issue with this Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda.” Trump’s surrender will negate a potential extradition from the Sunshine State to the Empire State.
Trump has maintained his innocence and slammed the indictment in a lengthy post on Truth Social on Thursday, saying it was an unprecedented attack on the country and on “free and fair elections.”
“These Thugs and Radical Left Monsters have just [INDICTED] the 45th President of the United States of America, and the leading Republican Candidate, by far, for the 2024 Nomination for President. THIS IS AN ATTACK ON OUR COUNTRY THE LIKES OF WHICH HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE. IT IS LIKEWISE A CONTINUING ATTACK ON OUR ONCE FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS. THE USA IS NOW A THIRD WORLD NATION, A NATION IN SERIOUS DECLINE. SO SAD!” Trump wrote.
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The indictment comes after prosecutors in Manhattan had been looking into possibly falsified business records concerning a $130,000 reimbursement of his then-lawyer Michael Cohen for paying off porn star Stormy Daniels. The payment was reported as a legal expense in 2016 during Trump’s presidential campaign.
Trump is the first former president to be criminally indicted. He is currently running for the Republican nomination for president in the 2024 election.
