Annisa Essack | kzn@radioislam.org.za
4th March 2023 | 21:00 CAT
4 min read

Photo Credit: WORDCRAFTBYANNISA

Former U.S. President Donald Trump turned himself over to authorities in New York on Tuesday before appearing in a state court for arraignment on more than 30 counts of alleged wrongdoing in the first indictment ever filed against a current or former U.S. leader.

Trump’s lawyers say he will not plead guilty to charges linked to a $130,000 hush payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels just ahead of his 2016 presidential election victory to silence her about her claim of an alleged affair with him a decade earlier.

Trump has long denied her claim but not that his one-time lawyer and political fixer, Michael Cohen, made the payment to Daniels and that reimbursement payments to Cohen were recorded on a Trump Organisation business ledger as legal expenses. Trump disputes the payment was related to his presidential campaign seven years ago.

Americans are sharply divided politically about Trump won’t be able to watch Trump in court. New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan rejected media requests to televise the proceedings but said he would allow a pool of photographers to take pictures of Trump and others just before starting his arraignment.

The indictment against Trump remained sealed, so the exact charges and any supporting evidence could remain secret until it is publicly disclosed during the arraignment.

Trump was booked and fingerprinted like any criminal defendant. It was not immediately known whether a mug shot was taken.

Dozens of police assembled at the courthouse and Trump Tower, where Trump spent the night and had last-minute strategy talks with his lawyers. Traffic near the courthouse has been restricted with barricades. Still, Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Trump ally, and the New York Young Republican Club planned a “peaceful protest” against Bragg across the street from the courthouse.

Donald Trump’s arraignment is expected to last less than an hour. Still, it could take years for his case to conclude as the litigious former president mounts a defence, extending the case beyond the 2024 U.S. presidential election he is running as a candidate.

At Trump’s arraignment, or initial court appearance, the judge assigned to the case, Juan Merchan, will read the charges against him, and as is customary for defendants, Trump will enter a plea of not guilty.

The legal steps include a series of pre-trial proceedings, lasting months or even years, followed by jury selection and trial.

A statute of limitations is a time limit for prosecuting a crime. In New York, the statute of limitations is two years for misdemeanours and five years for most felonies.

Since the hush money payment was made nearly seven years ago, defence lawyers could argue that Trump can’t be legally charged with a crime related to the alleged payoff.

Almost 90% of felony cases in New York result in a plea bargain; Trump’s lawyer has said there is “zero” chance the former president will entertain that option.

Under New York’s speedy trial laws, a felony trial must begin within six months of arraignment. But the deadline is almost always missed as both parties ask for additional preparation time.

If Trump is acquitted, he can hail it as a victory. But if he is found guilty of any charges against him, he has multiple options to appeal. He could challenge his conviction at the trial court level under New York’s criminal procedure law, arguing that the jury got the case wrong.

If that attempt fails, he could appeal the case through the state appellate courts and eventually to the United States Supreme Court. Experts say an appeal could be filed even before a trial takes place.

Trump, who plans to deliver a speech after the proceedings, plans to fly back to Florida to spend the night at his Mar-a-Lago estate and gather with his supporters.