Donald Trump pleads not guilty to 34 felony counts in New York court over 2016 hush money case

Donald Trump pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Manhattan District Court on Tuesday to 34 felony counts related to a 2016 pay-off of porn star Stormy Daniels, the first criminal charges ever brought against a former American president in a case highlighting the seams of an increasingly divided nation.

Trump looked glum as he walked into the courtroom after surrendering to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Trump, 76, and photos released from inside the room showed him slumped over. A few hours earlier, he called for a change of venue to Staten Island, the city's most conservative borough, as he denied any wrongdoing.

"There's nothing. The indictment itself is boilerplate," said Todd Blanche, a member of Trump's legal team, speaking to reporters afterwards.

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"His reaction was what exactly what would happen if it happened to anybody that I'm looking at now. He's frustrated, he's upset, but I'll tell you what, he's motivated and it's not going to stop him."

During the arraignment, Trump was read his rights, heard the charges read aloud and had his fingerprints taken, emerging as an accused criminal. The case was overseen by New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan, who also presided over the tax fraud trial of the Trump Organisation last year.

After the 45-minute arraignment - significantly longer than usual - Trump was released on his own recognisance given that the case involves nonviolent felony charges.

Trump immediately got into a black car as part of a convoy of vehicles headed for the airport to catch his plane back to Florida.

The 16-page indictment brought by Bragg, a Democrat, centres upon a US$130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election that Trump won. Trump has dismissed the indictment as political persecution and election interference "at the highest level in history".

"We cannot allow New York businesses to manipulate their records to cover up criminal conduct," Bragg said in a statement on Tuesday. "We today uphold our solemn responsibility to ensure that everyone stands equal before the law."

The case appears to involve two main parts, legal experts said, given the way New York law works: falsification of business records and a second broad but still largely undefined charge related to what essentially amounted to a conspiracy to pay hush money and undermine the 2016 election.

The district attorney's office also reportedly said in the closed courtroom that it was very concerned by Trump's threatening social media posts and was requesting a protective order given the potential danger to prosecutors, witnesses and jurors.

In social media posts on Monday night, Trump called Bragg "corrupt", cited his "pathetic Indictment against me" and urged him to "INDICT HIMSELF".

In particular, prosecutors mentioned a Trump post in late March involving a picture of himself holding a baseball bat that appeared beside an image of Bragg's head. Trump's attorneys countered later that the image of Bragg was added by someone else who manipulated the image.

The DA's office also reportedly expressed concern that Trump or others in his party could reveal discovery material in the court of public opinion, potentially compromising the trial.

Trump's attorneys countered that this was an issue of free speech.

The prosecution called for trial to begin in January 2024. Trump's team said this was too early and called for a start next spring. The judge did not immediately rule on the issue but said discovery - the presenting of evidence - would start in four months.

Under New York law, falsification of business records is only a misdemeanour. But by pairing it with a second charge, potentially related to what essentially amounted to a conspiracy to pay hush money, the district attorney can bring felony charges. Paying hush money is not in itself a crime in New York.

A second "statement of facts" accompanying the indictment and lacking the weight of a formal charging document laid out a narrative that depicts the former president as an active participant in efforts "to conceal criminal conduct that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election".

Citing a timeline from August 2015 to December 2017, it outlines Trump's direct involvement in meetings over hush-money payments and efforts to mischaracterise "for tax purposes, the true nature of the payments made in furtherance of the scheme".

Trump travels accompanied by an armed secret service detail, complicating security arrangements. Upon returning to Florida, he was expected to deliver a speech about the case on Tuesday evening from his home at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach.

Outside the courthouse on Tuesday and in front of Trump Tower a few miles uptown, hundreds of both pro and anti-Trump demonstrators gathered, yelling at one another across barriers and holding signs and waving flags.

Before the arraignment, an anti-Trump party held outside the heavily barricaded Trump Tower erected a "Don't Buy Trump Lies" banner as two Trump supporters across the street held Trump 2016 flags, calling him "the best president".

Trump Tower also saw a doppelganger of the former president arrive in a limousine and wave at journalists waiting outside for Trump. "It's not a prosecution," the lookalike said. "It's a persecution. It's a witch hunt."

A few miles away across from the courthouse, Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia organised a "Rally for Trump" protest a day after New York Mayor Eric Adams had advised protesters to "control yourselves". Greene spoke briefly but was drowned out by a crowd outnumbering Trump supporters. Security escorted her away.

Late Monday, Merchan ruled against televising the proceedings after Trump's lawyers argued that such a broadcast would create a "circus-like atmosphere".

In a social media post on Tuesday, Trump described the Manhattan court as a "very unfair venue" and called for the case to be transferred to Staten Island, which typically votes Republican.

It was unclear whether Trump's lawyers argued in court for a venue change.

Since the indictment was announced last week, Trump's ardent supporters have lashed out at the prosecutor, the courts, Democrats, media and "the system". Police in New York and Washington erected barriers, authorised overtime pay and drew up contingency plans.

Trump in recent days has urged his supporters to protest the criminal indictment, warning of "death & destruction" stemming from the case, without elaborating.

Authorities have braced for protests and a repeat of the riots that took place on January 6, 2021, when Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol after he denied he had lost the presidential election. To date, more than 200 demonstrators have received jail time for that violent protesting.

The high-stakes New York case is far from a sure bet for prosecutors. The main witness, Trump's former fixer and personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to and served prison time for several charges including campaign finance violations, potentially undercutting his credibility.

The complex and untested nature of the case - involving a state misdemeanour charge paired with a state election violation involving a federal presidential election - carries risks given the lack of precedent and, Trump's team argues, tenuous or even illogical links.

The Stormy Daniels case is widely seen as the weakest of the legal cases facing the former president. Trump is under investigation in Georgia over his bid to nullify that state's 2020 election results.

Separately, prosecutors are looking into Trump's role in the January 6 attack on the Capitol as well as his handling of classified documents.

Trump's indictment on Tuesday does not necessarily preclude his retaking the White House. The US Constitution outlines only three requirements to become president: the person must be a natural-born US citizen, 35 years or older and a resident of the US for at least 14 years.

Cohen, who pleaded guilty to charges related to his work with the Trump Organisation, has said he paid Daniels at Trump's direction and that Trump reimbursed him. Trump has acknowledged the reimbursement, but denied it was "hush money".

Bragg started closely examining the payments last summer, then impaneled a grand jury in January, which voted last week to indict the former president.

Top Republicans have rallied behind Trump, calling the indictment "politicised" and "un-American".

Political analysts differ on how the indictment will affect Trump in his bid for re-election, although it has given him a short-term boost as his fundraising and polling numbers have soared in recent days.

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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