If it had been doing its job the last several decades, he would have never gotten to the presidency. And, hey, he's got Secret Service protection, and his lawyers were with him, FFS, Alyssa.
From The Guardian live feed...
Moments before starting his trip to the Manhattan criminal court, Donald Trump shared a rather obvious message with his followers on the social media platform Truth Social.
“Heading to Lower Manhattan, the Courthouse. Seems so SURREAL – WOW, they are going to ARREST ME,” Trump said. “Can’t believe this is happening in America. MAGA!”
From ABC...
Trump looked a bit subdued when he came out of the arrest procedure after being fingerprinted. No thumbs up!Trump didn't speak to the press as he headed into the courtroom at 2:28 p.m., nearly one hour after he entered the courthouse at 1:23 p.m.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg was brought into the courtroom before him, escorted in under the protection of officers.
ABC
No respect. They didn't even hold the door for him.
Doesn't look that blustery waiting to hear the charges against him, either.
CNN pundit Van Jones quipped that Trump has gone “from reality TV to reality” after being criminally charged in a New York Court room on Tuesday.
“Yeah from reality TV to reality, you know, that’s how it looks,” Jones said minutes after a photo of Trump sitting in the court room during his arraignment said. “This is not Judge Judy. This is real, and you can see it.”
The Hill
The indictment #71543-23 was released at 3:00pm Eastern and includes 34 counts of felony falsifying business records. A count is included for the intent to commit and conceal another crime of interfering with the election.
According to ABC live coverage:Donald Trump has just left the Manhattan criminal court, about two hours after arriving there to be arrested and arraigned over charges linked to a 2016 hush-money scheme.
The former president once again declined to speak to reporters as he left the courthouse, ignoring shouted questions about how he pleaded in the case.
Guardian
No gag order is in place. I wonder if that will last. Prosecutors had asked for a protection order for discovery so that Trump couldn't publicize it. Judge Merchan reminded Trump he has a right to "conflict-free" attorneys, and asked if he understood. Trump nodded, and the judge put his hand behind his ear and said, "I can't hear you." He also told Trump he has to attend all hearings in person.*
So, anyway, relax. It's a long time for Trump land to be threatening people and posting hateful shit online. In the meantime, maybe we'll hear from Jack Smith or Fani Willis.
Interestingly, the child out of wedlock story rises from the ashes...
Also, there was no mugshot, so they made one up for fundraising.
UPDATE 10:09 pm:
The Trump team asked for a Spring 2024 trial date. Not sure why they think it would be better to be closer to the November election.According to multiple reports, the next in-person hearing in Donald Trump’s hush-money case will be held in December [4th], and a trial would not start until January 2024 at the earliest.
Guardian
So, anyway, relax. It's a long time for Trump land to be threatening people and posting hateful shit online. In the meantime, maybe we'll hear from Jack Smith or Fani Willis.
Interestingly, the child out of wedlock story rises from the ashes...
According to the statement of facts from the Manhattan district attorney’s office, the parent company of the National Enquirer, American Media, Inc, at one point bought a story about Donald Trump fathering a child out of wedlock.
“[I]n or about October or November 2015, the AMI CEO learned that a former Trump Tower doorman (the ‘Doorman’) was trying to sell information regarding a child that the Defendant had allegedly fathered out of wedlock,” the statement of facts reads.
“At the AMI CEO’s 4 direction, AMI negotiated and signed an agreement to pay the Doorman $30,000 to acquire exclusive rights to the story. AMI falsely characterized this payment in AMI’s books and records, including in its general ledger. AMI purchased the information from the Doorman without fully investigating his claims, but the AMI CEO directed that the deal take place because of his agreement with the Defendant and Lawyer A.”
Guardian
I'm sure we're going to keep hearing from MAGA land that Trump is being tried for paying off a porn star, rather than the actual felony charges of falsifying business records.
Also, there was no mugshot, so they made one up for fundraising.
That's enough for now. There will be more. Bragg is going to hold a press conference, and all the pundits and Tweeters and nasty Republicans will be chattering for several days to come.
*UPDATE 04/05/2023: That statement by ABC turns out not to be true. According to the transcript of the hearing, the judge informed Trump he had the right to refuse to be present.
The ABC folks may have been talking imprecisely about the last back and forth when the defense suggested that to spare Manhattan the expense and spectacle of arraignment day, they may not need Trump's presence on the day of motions set for December 4. The judge said he would deny that application, "in the interest of transparency and assuring the rules of law evenhandedly...in the same way I expect all other defendants to appear in court." Or I may simply have misunderstood ABC's reporting.
The ABC folks may have been talking imprecisely about the last back and forth when the defense suggested that to spare Manhattan the expense and spectacle of arraignment day, they may not need Trump's presence on the day of motions set for December 4. The judge said he would deny that application, "in the interest of transparency and assuring the rules of law evenhandedly...in the same way I expect all other defendants to appear in court." Or I may simply have misunderstood ABC's reporting.
UPDATE 04/06/2023:
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