Former President Donald Trump will reportedly be arrested and charged with 34 felony counts on Tuesday when he is arraigned in New York, but he is not expected to be placed in handcuffs or given a mug shot.
Trump will be arrested on 34 felony counts for falsification of business records, according to Yahoo News, which said it spoke with a source briefed on the procedures for the arraignment of the former president. For prosecutors, the business records activity is believed to relate to Trump’s alleged $130,000 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 presidential election, possibly to conceal that purported crime. However, it will not be clear until after the indictment is unsealed. Trump has vehemently denied that the affair ever occurred.
DONALD TRUMP INDICTED: TRUMP ATTORNEY SAYS ARRAIGNMENT ‘FEELS LIKE WE’RE ON THE EVE OF DESTRUCTION’
It was previously reported that Trump would be facing at least one felony offense for the alleged hush money payment. The reported 34 felony counts concerning alleged additional illegality create an entirely different picture surrounding the case, which affects not only Trump and his attorneys but quite actually anybody involved in the prosecution and in the 2024 presidential election.
Trump’s messages on Truth Social Monday night appear to, at the very least, lend credence to the fact that he is aware of the 30-plus felony charges against him.
“Wow! District Attorney Bragg just illegally LEAKED the various points, and complete information, on the pathetic Indictment against me. I know the reporter and so, unfortunately, does he. This means that he MUST BE IMMEDIATELY INDICTED,” Trump posted at about 9 p.m. EST Monday. “Now, if he wants to really clean up his reputation, he will do the honorable thing and, as District Attorney, INDICT HIMSELF. He will go down in Judicial history, and his Trump Hating wife will be, I am sure, very proud of him!”
The former president did not stop there, continuing to target Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
“D.A. BRAGG JUST ILLEGALLY LEAKED THE 33 points of Indictment. There are no changes or surprises from those he leaked days ago directly out of the Grand Jury. No Crime by Trump. What a MESS. Bragg should resign, NOW!” Trump wrote.
A spokesperson for Bragg told Yahoo in an email that the district attorney’s office “declined to comment on a sealed indictment.”
Most, if not all, people charged with a crime in New York are placed in handcuffs and given a mugshot. This was the conventional understanding for Trump, too, leading Republicans to opine whether it would be good for him or not.
To some in the GOP, the image would stand as a symbol for Trump’s populist appeal and as a rallying cry for his 2024 campaign, helping launch him back into the Oval Office. Yet, for others, a mugshot would be a sinister ploy by Democrats to distract from and interfere with next year’s election by painting Trump as a criminal when, in their view, he has done nothing wrong.
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After Trump is placed under arrest on Tuesday, a New York City police arrest report summarizing the charges against Trump will be prepared and filed into the court system before he is led into a courtroom to be arraigned on the charges. Bragg’s office decided there is no reason to place the former president in handcuffs or give him a mug shot, per Yahoo.
Trump arrived in New York City on Monday to spend the night at Trump Tower before his arraignment Tuesday. After the legal proceedings, he is expected to return to his home in West Palm Beach, Florida, with the former president previously saying he would address the nation from his Mar-a-Lago resort at 8:15 pm EST Tuesday after he is charged.
However, some legal experts have speculated the judge could place a gag order that would prevent Trump, attorneys and associates, and family members from speaking about the case. The details of how this would affect his speech if the judge made such an order are not yet clear.
