Newsman: Former President Donald Trump has arrived in New York City to surrender himself to authorities after his historic indictment by a Manhattan grand jury. Donald Trump landed at La Guardia airport in New York about 3:27 p.m. after flying up from his Florida estate Mar-a-Lago for his arraignment set for Tuesday.
The charges, which are expected to remain under seal until Trump’s arraignment Tuesday, relate to his alleged role in covering up hush money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in the days before the 2016 presidential election.
Trump announced he will speak at 8:15 p.m. Tuesday from Mar-a-Lago, a chance to make his case in the court of public opinion as well as in the 2024 presidential race. He got another rival Sunday when former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson declared his candidacy.
Trump is expected to have his mug shot and fingerprints taken, have the formal charges read and then plead not guilty according to Trump’s his lawyer Joe Tacopina .The Secret Service will accompany Trump, he said.
For months, a 23-person grand jury heard evidence of the former president’s role in the hush money scheme, including testimony from Daniels and Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen. Ultimately, more than half of the jurors were convinced there was reasonable cause to believe that Trump committed a crime, resulting in his indictment Thursday.
Trump has denied any criminal wrongdoing and is expected to plead not guilty. “On Tuesday morning I will be going to, believe it or not, the Courthouse,” he wrote on Truth Social. “America was not supposed to be this way!”
A court appearance for the history books is scheduled for 2:15 p.m. Tuesday, where the criminal charges against the former president will be unsealed.
