Donald Trump’s lawyer says the indicted former president won’t be handcuffed when he’s arrested on 30 charges – but could face fingerprinting and a mugshot.
Donald Trump’s lawyer says the indicted former president won’t be handcuffed when he’s arrested on 30 charges – but could face fingerprinting and a mugshot
The 76-year-old former reality TV personality’s attorney Joe Tacopina confirmed the no-cuffs deal had been struck between Trump’s legal team and prosecutors in Manhattan, where the ex-US commander-in-chief will surrender to authorities after a grand jury voted he should face criminal charges over a $130,000 hush money payment to former porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential race.
Mr Tacopina, 56, told ABC’s ‘Good Morning America’ on Friday (31.03.23) about how Trump and his team had been rocked by becoming the first ex-US president in history to be indicted: “I feel like the rule of law died yesterday in this country, and it’s not something I’m happy about.
“This is unprecedented in this country’s history. I don’t know what to expect other than an arraignment.”
Trump will be arraigned on Tuesday (04.04.23) afternoon at a Manhattan court, New York court officials have confirmed.
He faces around 30 counts of document fraud-related charges in the indictment, according to two sources, but the indictment itself has remained sealed, as is standard in New York before an arraignment.
Mr Tacopina added he thought the courthouse will close as Trump arrives, before he appears before a judge to plead not guilty.
His team is set to file motions against the indictment, arguing against “the legal liability of this case”.
Mr Tacopina added: “I’m sure they’ll try to get every ounce of publicity from this thing.”
Referring to the prosecution, he stressed: “The president will not be put in handcuffs. I’m sure they’ll try to make sure they get some joy out of this by parading him.”
He also said Trump’s Secret Service protection and New York state and city police are not “going to allow this to become a circus, at least as much as humanly possible”.
Amid fears Trump’s indictment could spark unrest, a memo seen by NBC stated New York police have been told to report for duty on Friday and be prepared for “unusual disorder”.
The explosive indictment of Trump on Thursday (30.03.23) will rock the race for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, in which he leads the majority of polls.
As the indictment was still under seal on Friday morning, it is unclear how many charges Trump faces for the payment made to adult star Stormy, 44, but reports say the dad-of-five is facing at least 30 counts of business fraud.
The indictment is the culmination of a years-long probe into hush money paid to adult movie star Stormy Daniels, 44, in 2016, allegedly to buy her silence about her apparent affair with Trump.
Stormy – born Stephanie Gregory Clifford – claims she had a fling with Trump in 2006.
He denies they had an affair and has called it a “witch hunt”, but has admitted directing his then lawyer Michael Cohen, 56, to pay Daniels $130,000 for her silence.
The adult star claimed Cohen used "intimidation and coercive tactics" to get her to sign on to the statement denying her affair with Trump.
Cohen told a federal court in Manhattan Trump directed him to make the payments, and was eventually sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to campaign finance charges stemming from his part in the payments.
Trump also faces a series of other legal woes – including over the January 6 attack on Congress, his keeping of classified records, business dealings and a defamation suit arising from an allegation of rape by the writer E Jean Carroll, 79, which Trump has denied.
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