Donald Trump on his arrival in New York on Monday. (Photo: Ed JONES / AFP)
Donald Trump, former US president, will report to a court in New York later today where he will have to appear in the dock. The case concerns the hush payment that was apparently made to a porn star weeks before the US election in 2016.
Trump is expected to appear before Judge Juan Merchan in Manhattan court shortly after 2:15 p.m. US time, where the charge against him will be announced. He is expected to plead not guilty.
American news channels will not be allowed to broadcast the court proceedings, but reporters will be given time to take pictures of the former president in the courtroom before the proceedings.
Reporters wait outside Trump Towers in Manhattan on Tuesday in anticipation of Donald Trump’s court appearance. (Photo: Leonardo Munoz / AFP)
CNN report Trump already arrived in New York on Monday, where he met with his lawyers Susan Necheles and Joe Tacopina at Trump Towers in Manhattan on the eve of his court appearance.
Trump’s fingerprints are expected to be taken before his appearance later today. A mugshot may also be taken of the former president before he has to appear in court.
Reporters wait outside Trump Towers in Manhattan on Tuesday in anticipation of Donald Trump’s court appearance. (Photo: Yasushi kaneko / Yomiuri / The Yomiuri Shimbun via AFP)
Trump will not be handcuffed, assured Tacopina.
“President Trump will not take a plea deal in this case. It’s not going to happen. There is no crime,” Tacopina told NBC ahead of the court appearance Today Show said.
Trump is expected to return to Florida after his appearance and plans to make a speech at Mar-a-Lago, his residence in Florida, within hours.
It is difficult to speculate at this stage whether Trump faces jail time as it is still not clear exactly what the former president is being charged with.
