Pawtucket Times

Trump to be arraigned in New York Tuesday

NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump will be formally arrested and arraigned next Tuesday, court officials said .

As the Manhattan court confirmed the timing on Friday, the streets outside had calmed from earlier in the week. There were no large-scale demonstrations for or against Trump, though tourists stopped to take selfies and throngs of reporters and police officers remained assembled.

Trump’s legal team prepared his defense while the prosecutor, a political opponent of Trump, defended the investigation that propelled the matter toward trial. Congressional Republicans, as well as Trump himself, contend the whole matter is politically motivated.

“We urge you to refrain from these inflammatory accusations, withdraw your demand for information, and let the criminal justice process proceed without unlawful political interference,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Friday. Bragg was elected in 2020 after campaigning on a pledge to prosecute Trump.

The case is plunging the U.S. into uncharted legal waters, with Trump the first former president ever to face an indictment. And the political implications could be titanic ahead of next year’s presidential election. Trump is in the midst of running for president a third time and has said the case against him could hurt that effort — though his campaign is already raising money by citing it.

Top Republicans also have begun closing ranks around him. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has promised to use congressional oversight to probe Bragg. Reps. James Comer, Jim Jordan and Bryan Steil, the committee chairs whom Bragg addressed in his letter, have asked the district attorney’s office for grand jury testimony, documents and copies of any communications with the Justice Department.

Trump’s indictment came after a grand jury probe into hush money paid during the 2016 presidential campaign to squelch allegations of an extramarital sexual encounter. The indictment itself has remained sealed, as is standard in New York before an arraignment.

The investigation dug into six-figure payments made to porn actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Both claim to have had sexual encounters with the married Trump years before he got into politics. He denies having sexual liaisons with either woman.

Trump also has denied any wrongdoing involving payments and has denounced the investigation as a “scam,” a “persecution,” an injustice. He argues that it is specifically designed to damage his 2024 presidential run.

Trump lawyer Joseph Tacopina said during TV interviews Friday he would “very aggressively” challenge the legal validity of the Manhattan grand jury indictment. Trump himself, on his social media platform, trained his ire on a new target, complaining that the judge expected to handle the case, Juan Manuel Merchan, “HATES ME.”

The former president is expected to fly to New York on Monday and stay at Trump Tower overnight ahead of his planned arraignment Tuesday, according to two people familiar with his plans who requested anonymity to discuss Trump’s travel.

OBITUARIES/NATION

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2023-04-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-04-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://pawtuckettimes.pressreader.com/article/281539410221738

Alberta Newspaper Group