Trump arraignment will get under way soon
Donald Trump’s arraignment is scheduled to take place in a few hours. Here’s what we know so far:
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Trump will be arraigned at 2.15pm 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.
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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.
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Trump is scheduled to deliver remarks at his Mar-a-Lago resort at 8.15pm 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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The court will probably determine the future of abortion in Wisconsin and it is also poised to play a hugely consequential role in setting election rules for the 2024 presidential election in the critical battleground state.
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The race is the most expensive judicial race in American history. More than $45m has been spent, shattering the $10m record that was spent in Wisconsin in 2020 as well as the national record $15m spent on an Illinois race in 2004.
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The Guardian’s Sam Levine and Alice Herman are on the ground in Wisconsin talking to voters throughout the day.
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Polls are open in Wisconsin! pic.twitter.com/E8vb8x32Dk
— Alice Herman (@aliceraeherman) April 4, 2023
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Donald Trump’s arraignment is scheduled to take place in a few hours. Here’s what we know so far:
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Trump will be arraigned at 2.15pm 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 8.15pm 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.
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The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
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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.
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Associated Press report he said he didn’t believe the case would ever make it to a jury, but he conceded: “Really, there’s a lot of mystery here because we’re doing something that’s never been done before.”
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“I think there will be a typical processing, which does not take long, 20-30 minutes. There won’t be handcuffs,” Tacopina told ABC’s Good Morning America. “But, yeah, he’ll be processed the way anyone else would be – to a degree.”
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Here is a reminder, courtesy of Reuters, of the timeline of how we got to today:
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January 2018 – The Wall Street Journal reports that Trump arranged a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in October 2016 to prevent her from discussing a sexual encounter she said she had with Trump in 2006. Trump has consistently denied having an affair with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.
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February 2018 – Michael Cohen, a former private lawyer and fixer for Trump, says he paid Daniels using his own money and was not directed by Trump’s company or campaign to make the payment. He said Trump never reimbursed him for the payment. Cohen would later contradict both statements under oath, stating Trump did in fact direct him to make the payment and reimbursed him.
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April 2018 – Trump, when asked by reporters if he knew about the payment to Daniels, responded, “No.” Asked why Cohen made the payment, Trump said, “You’ll have to ask Michael Cohen.”
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May 2018 – In an ethics disclosure, Trump acknowledges reimbursing Cohen for the $130,000 paid for Daniels.
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August 2018 – Cohen pleads guilty to criminal charges in Manhattan federal court, including campaign finance violations over the hush money payments. He testified that Trump directed him to make the payments “for the principal purpose of influencing the election”.
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August 2019 – Cyrus Vance, the Manhattan district attorney at the time, issues a subpoena to the Trump Organization for records of hush money payments.
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July 2021 – Vance’s office indicts the Trump Organization and its top financial executive on tax fraud charges. Trump himself is not charged with a crime, and the indictment contains no references to hush money payments.
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December 2022 – The Trump Organization is found guilty of tax fraud after a trial in New York state court in Manhattan.
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January 2023 – Having replaced Vance as district attorney, Alvin Bragg’s office begins presenting evidence about Trump’s alleged role in the 2016 hush money payments to a grand jury.
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March 2023 – Manhattan prosecutors invite Trump to testify before the grand jury, which legal experts say is a sign an indictment could come soon. Cohen testifies before the grand jury.
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18 March 2023 – Trump says on his social media platform Truth Social that he expects to be arrested on 21 March and calls on his supporters to protest. A spokesperson for Trump said the former president had not been notified of any arrest.
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23 March 2023 – Bragg’s office says Trump created a false expectation that he would be arrested, and tells Republican congressmen seeking communications, documents and testimony about the probe that they were interfering with an ongoing investigation.
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24 March 2023 – Trump warns of potential “death and destruction” if he is charged with a crime.
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30 March 2023 – Media reports say Trump is indicted.
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Welcome to our live coverage of what is set to be an historic day in US politics, with Dona