Connect with us

World

Indictment: Trump Arrives New York Ahead Arraignment

Published

on

Donald Trump left his Florida home Monday bound for New York where he will surrender to criminal charges, taking the United States into uncharted and potentially volatile territory.

The 76-year-old Republican, the first American president ever to be criminally indicted, will be formally charged Tuesday over hush money paid to a porn star during the 2016 election campaign.

TV footage showed a motorcade departing Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home at 12:20 pm (1620 GMT) to head to the city where he made his name, and where he hopes to use his appearance before a judge to rouse support for his 2024 White House bid.

“The Corrupt D.A. has no case,” Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social, of the Manhattan district attorney prosecuting the case. “What he does have is a venue where it is IMPOSSIBLE for me to get a Fair Trial.”

New York police were on high alert ahead of Trump’s arrival, with security cordons and Secret Service agents outside Trump Tower and the criminal court where he will appear before a judge Tuesday afternoon.

New York Mayor Eric Adams warned that anyone protesting violently during Trump’s historic arraignment will be “arrested and held accountable, no matter who you are.”

“While there may be some rabble rousers thinking about coming to our city tomorrow our message is clear, is simple: ‘control yourselves’,” the mayor told a press conference.

As part of his arraignment, Trump will undergo the standard booking procedure of being fingerprinted and photographed, likely to result in one of the most famous mugshots of the modern era.

‘Up in the air’

There is no roadmap for a former president’s surrender to court authorities, and it remains to be seen whether the famously unpredictable Trump will follow the script, or find a way to upend events.

“It’s all up in the air,” Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina said on CNN Sunday.

But a “perp walk” — in which a defendant is escorted in handcuffs past media cameras — is unlikely for an ex-president under US Secret Service protection, Tacopina said.

“Hopefully this will be as painless and classy as possible for a situation like this.”

But Trump, who has denounced the legal proceedings as a “witch hunt” and “political persecution, is girding for battle, Tacopina added.

A grand jury indicted Trump last week in the case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, an elected Democrat.

The specific charges will be revealed during Tuesday’s hearing. They revolve around the investigation of $130,000 paid to pornographic actress Stormy Daniels just days before Trump’s election win.

Trump’s former lawyer and aide Michael Cohen, who has since turned against his ex-boss, says he arranged the payment to Daniels in exchange for her silence about a tryst she says she had with Trump in 2006.

Trump, who was already married to his wife Melania at the time, denies the affair.

Legal experts have suggested that if not properly accounted for, the payment could result in misdemeanour charges for falsifying business records that could be raised to felonies if it was intended to cover up a campaign finance violation.

The Daniels case is only one of several investigations threatening Trump.

Republicans unite?

An independent prosecutor is looking into any potential role Trump played in the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol, as well as his handling and keeping of classified documents after he left the White House.

In the swing state of Georgia, Trump is under investigation for pressuring officials to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 victory there — including a taped phone call in which he asked the secretary of state to “find” enough votes to reverse the result.

Biden, knowing anything he might say could fuel Trump’s complaints of a politically “weaponized” judicial system, is one of the few Democrats maintaining silence over the indictment of his political rival.

Republicans have largely rallied around Trump, including his rival in the party’s presidential primary, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who called the indictment “un-American.”

But some Republicans bristled at the prospect of a twice-impeached president facing multiple legal probes seeking the party’s nomination.

Some observers believe the indictment bodes ill for Trump’s 2024 chances, while others say it could boost his support.

A CNN poll Monday found that 94 per cent of Democrats surveyed approved of the grand jury’s decision to indict Trump while 79 per cent of Republicans disapproved. Some 62 per cent of independents.

AFP

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

USA

Kamala Harris Chooses Tim Walz As Presidential Running Mate

Published

on

By

Vice President Kamala Harris has picked Minnesota Gov., Tim Walz, as her presidential running mate, ahead of the forthcoming American election in November.

He will join her this evening at a rally in Philadelphia, kicking off a swing through battleground states, says NBCnews.

Continue Reading

USA

Biden Steps Down from Re-Election Bid, Says ‘It’s in the Best Interest of the Country’

Published

on

By

President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, has announced his resignation from seeking reelection into the White House.

Biden, who made the announcement on Sunday, said much as he would love to return to the Oval Office, his decision to quit the race is in the interest of the Democratic Party and country.

The Full Speech

“My Fellow Americans, Over the past three and a half years, we have made great progress as a Nation,” Biden said.

My Fellow Americans,

Over the past three and a half years, we have made great progress as a Nation. Today, America has the strongest economy in the world. We’ve made historic investments in rebuilding our Nation, in lowering prescription drug costs for seniors, and in expanding affordable health care to a record number of Americans. We’ve provided critically needed care to a million veterans exposed to toxic substances. Passed the first gun safety law in 30 years.  Appointed the first African American woman to the Supreme Court. And passed the most significant climate legislation in the history of the world. America has never been better positioned to lead than we are today.

I know none of this could have been done without you, the American people. Together, we overcame a once in a century pandemic and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. We’ve protected and preserved our Democracy. And we’ve revitalized and strengthened our alliances around the world.

It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.

I will speak to the Nation later this week in more detail about my decision. For now, let me express my deepest gratitude to all those who have worked so hard to see me reelected. I want to thank Vice President Kamala Harris for being an extraordinary partner in all this work. And let me express my heartfelt appreciation to the American people for the faith and trust you have placed in me.

“I believe today what I always have: that there is nothing America can’t do – when we do it together. We just have to remember we are the United States of America.”

Some Americans and top democrats had raised concerns over Biden’s health following his botched presidential debate with Donald Trump, Republican Party nominee.

Continue Reading

USA

Fresh Challenge, Pressure As Biden Contracts COVID-19

Published

on

By

United States President Joe Biden faces new pressure to step aside because of his age – with his campaign activity currently halted due to a Covid-19 infection.

The top two Democrats in the US Congress, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, are both reported by US media to have met him privately to express concerns over his candidacy.

Nancy Pelosi, the former House Speaker, is also reported to have told him that he cannot beat Donald Trump in November’s election.

Announcing his Covid infection on Wednesday night, the White House said the 81-year-old was facing mild symptoms.

Karine Jean-Pierre, his press secretary, said the president was vaccinated and boosted. He has tested positive for Covid twice before.

Mr Biden was seen earlier in the day visiting supporters in Las Vegas and speaking at an event. He cancelled a campaign speech later in the night.

Ms Jean-Pierre said the president planned to isolate at his home in Delaware while carrying out “all of his duties fully”.

The president’s doctor, Kevin O’Connor, said Mr Biden had presented with upper respiratory symptoms, including a runny nose and a cough, and had been given his first dose of Paxlovid.

He felt fine during his first event of the day but later tested positive, Dr O’Connor said.

Mr Biden later used X/Twitter to thank everyone for “the well wishes” and said he would “work to get the job done for the American people” while in recovery.

In another tweet his account stated “I’m sick” before replying back “… of Elon Musk and his rich buddies trying to buy this election. And if you agree, pitch in here”.

The tweet pointed to a donations portal.

Source: BBC

Continue Reading

Trending