Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Tuesday to 34 counts of falsifying business records and conspiracy, in the first-ever criminal arraignment of a former U.S. president.
The hearing on charges related to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s hush money payment probe started around 2:30 p.m. ET, after Trump’s arrest at a Manhattan courthouse. He left for the courthouse from Trump Tower after 1 p.m. ET, waving to cameras before he departed for his surrender and arraignment.
Trump flew to New York on Monday from his Florida residence to turn himself in.
He was indicted Thursday on charges related to a hush money payment his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen made to former adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.
Trump appeared before acting New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan at 2:15 p.m. ET. Photos from the courtroom showed a deflated Trump sitting among his legal team.
News outlets pushed for the judge to allow camera access during the hearing, an effort Trump’s lawyers have opposed and which Merchan denied.
Bragg will hold a news conference following the arraignment. The ex-president, meanwhile, plans to travel back to his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida after the hearing and deliver remarks there.
Trump denies the claim by Daniels, whose given name is Stephanie Clifford, that she had sex with him one time in 2006. He also denies wrongdoing related to the $130,000 payment Cohen gave her to keep quiet about the alleged tryst.
The White House is maintaining its silence and withholding comment on the Trump indictment. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked several times during Tuesday’s press briefing about the case and she declined to comment.
“It’s an ongoing case, we’re just not going to comment on the case itself,” Jean-Pierre said. “Look, the president’s going to focus on the American people like he does every day. This is not something that is a focus for him.”
Jean-Pierre said she has not spoken with Biden on any of the developments. She reiterated that the White House was not given prior notice of the indictment and learned of the pending charges through news reports.
