Donald Trump pleads not guilty to 34 counts against him in Manhattan court

Former US President Donald Trump on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in a Manhattan court during his arraignment on historymaking criminal charges related to paying hush money to a porn star before the 2016 presidential election in exchange for her silenceThe 76yearold former president who ruled the country for four years till January 2021 was arrested when he arrived to surrender at the Manhattan criminal court Trump who became the first former US president to be indicted arrested and arraigned on criminal charges pleaded not guilty to 34 criminal charges of falsifying business records in person before State Supreme Court Justice Juan M MerchanHe entered the plea during a 45minute arraignment as prosecutors unsealed a grand jury indictment No video cameras were allowed inside the courtroom There was a few seconds visual as he entered the courtroom Trump left the court after his arraignment The former president earlier arrived at the specially secured Manhattan courthouse in an eightcar motorcade He was arrested as he arrived at the courtAlso Read Donald Trump raises USD 4 mn post indictmentShortly after Trump was put under arrest his campaign released a mugshot picture of him on a tshirt saying not guilty A large crowd had gathered in front of the courtroom ahead of his arraignment President Joe Biden did not respond to questions from reporters on the issue at the White House Trumps attorneys earlier said the Republican leader eying the White House for a second time in 2024 will plead not guilty to the criminal charges he is facing in connection with hush money payments to adult film star Stormy DanielsTrump will now fly back to Florida where he is expected to deliver remarks at MaraLago in Palm Beach in the evening Trump has denied all wrongdoings in connection with the payments made to Stormy Daniels 44 ahead of the 2016 presidential election Heading to Lower Manhattan the Courthouse Seems so SURREAL WOW they are going to ARREST ME Cant believe this is happening in America MAGA Trump posted to Truth Social as he was en route to the courthouseSecurity was tightened in New York in particular the courthouse in lower Manhattan as hundreds of Trumps supporters have landed in the city to rally behind him New York City Mayor Eric Adams has warned against any breaking of law and order The White House refrained from making a comment on the developments in New York except for saying that its a legal matterIts an ongoing case so were just not going to comment on the case specifically itself but the president is going to focus on the American people like he does every day This is not something that is a focus for him He is going to focus on things like making sure that continue to lower prices for the American people White House Press Secretary Karine JeanPierre told reporters at her daily news conferenceOf course this is playing out on many of the networks here on a daily basis for hours and hours so obviously he will catch part of the news when he has a moment to catch up on the news of the day but this is not his focus for today she said in response to a question President Joe Biden she said was not given a heads up on Trumps indictment He was briefed by his chief of staff and he learned about this just like all of you through the reporting Our focus right now is on the American people Im just not going to comment on any ongoing case she saidNews outlets were not allowed to broadcast Trumps arraignment Trump flew in his aircraft to New York City from his MaraLago home on Monday The development comes as Trump faces legal hurdles in other potential criminal cases Trump is currently the frontrunner among all declared and potential contenders for the 2024 Republican White House nomination But there is nothing in US law that prevents a candidate who is found guilty of a crime from campaigning for and serving as president even from prisonTrump was twice impeached by the House of Representatives He was acquitted by the Senate both times Trump and his aides are using the indictment to rile up his supporters and bolster his 2024 reelection campaign Hours before his arraignment Trump sent an email to his supporters which he claimed was the last one before his arrest saying that the United States is becoming a Marxist Third World country and went on social media questioning the fairness of the judiciaryMy last email before my arrest Trump said in the subject line of the email Today we mourn the loss of justice in America Today is the day that a ruling political party ARRESTS its leading opponent for having committed NO CRIME Trump wrote As I will be out of commission for the next few hours I want to take this moment to THANK YOU for all of your support I am blown away by all of the donations support and prayers we have received Its sad to see whats happening not for myself but for our country he said In less than 24 hours after being indicted he raised over more than USD 4 millionA sad day for our nation even as we pay the highest price to prove that we are a nation of laws no one is above the law and now former President Trump stands indicted with 34 counts and is protected like every American with every Constitutional protection including presumptiveinnocence and the all powerful right to confront the witnesses against him IndianAmerican attorney Ravi Batra said after the former president pleaded not guiltyThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever