The charges stem from an investigation into hush money allegedly paid to adult star Stormy Daniels in 2016. Trump appeared at the Manhattan Criminal Court wearing a dark blue suit and red tie, waving to the crowd as he arrived.
He held his fist in the air as a gesture to reporters. The charges are politically motivated according to Trump. He remained sombre as he entered the courthouse, said nothing as he walked past police and through the hallway, and sat quietly at the defence table in the courtroom.
The arraignment is the first step in the legal process, where a defendant hears the charges and can enter a plea. Trump was fingerprinted, but no mugshot photo was taken. He is the first former US President to face criminal charges, and a trial, if there is one, is at least more than a year away.
Legal experts say that being indicted or convicted does not legally prevent Trump from running for president. Trump urged that the case be moved to Staten Island, which regularly votes Republican.
According to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Monday, Donald Trump's lead has increased over his competitors in the Republican Party's presidential nominating contest, despite news of impending criminal charges.
The poll shows that 48% of Republicans would like Trump to be their party's presidential nominee, up from 44% the previous month. Meanwhile, Ron DeSantis, the current governor of Florida, has dropped from 30% to around 19%.
The poll also revealed that over two-thirds of respondents believed Trump had paid hush money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, but around half believed that the charges were politically motivated.
Trump currently faces several legal issues. In one of the cases, the Manhattan grand jury that indicted him heard evidence regarding a $130,000 payment made to Daniels just before the 2016 presidential election. Daniels claimed that the payment was intended to keep her quiet about a s-xual encounter she had with Trump at a Lake Tahoe hotel in 2006.
Trump has denied any s-xual relationship with Daniels but has admitted to reimbursing his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, for the payment. Cohen pleaded guilty to federal campaign finance law violations in 2018 and was sentenced to three years in prison. He testified in the Manhattan investigation last month.
In addition to the above case, Trump is also facing a criminal probe by a Democratic local prosecutor in Georgia, which is investigating whether he unlawfully attempted to overturn his 2020 election defeat in the state. He is also being investigated by the US Justice Department for his handling of classified documents after leaving office and for his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, led by a special counsel.
