From our correspondent in the United States,
This is unprecedented in American history. The first former president to be criminally charged, Donald Trump appears this Tuesday in New York justice, where 35,000 police officers have been placed “on alert”. The billionaire will be placed under arrest, then a Manhattan judge will detail the charges retained by a grand jury in the case of the payment to the former star of X Stormy Daniels just before the presidential election of 2016.
What’s Tuesday’s schedule?
Donald Trump left his residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, on Monday morning, and he was to spend the night at Trump Tower, on New York’s famous 5th Avenue, a stone’s throw from Central Park. Six kilometers further south, an imposing 17-story building houses the offices of Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg, the criminal court and an NYPD police station with cells for short-term detentions. The former American president is expected there at midday, between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
On his arrival, he will be placed under arrest, and his fingerprints taken. The arrest, the reading of the indictment by Judge Juan Merchan, is scheduled for 2:15 p.m. (8:15 p.m. Paris time) and is expected to last less than 30 minutes. Donald Trump is expected to plead not guilty and come out free, before returning to Florida and holding a press conference in the evening.
What are the charges?
For now, the charges are under seal, and the judge will detail them on Tuesday. According to CNN, the grand jury retained about thirty charges, including at least one relating to a felony, an offense punishable by imprisonment. Donald Trump is accused of false accounting statements. Her former attorney, Michael Cohen, bought Stormy Daniels’ silence for $130,000, as she prepared to claim she had an affair with Trump ten years earlier. Such a payment is not illegal, but because it occurred a month before the 2016 presidential election, it could be a campaign expense. But Donald Trump never declared it as such and passed it off as a legal fee in his company’s tax return.
Will Donald Trump get his “mug shot”?
Normally, all persons placed under arrest are photographed. But Donald Trump is not an accused like the others, and the question has not been decided. In New York State, the “mug shots” are not made public, and the authorities fear leaks.
Will Trump be handcuffed?
A priori, no. It is the prosecutor who decides, but Donald Trump’s lawyers have indicated that he should not be handcuffed and undergo a parade of shame (“perp walk”) in front of the photographers, in a politically explosive file. After his appearance, he will have the choice of leaving the court through a discreet door or through the main entrance, where the media will be stationed. The candidate, who denounces “judicial harassment”, might want to use these images to raise funds and mobilize his base. But it’s a risky bet that could scare away independent voters and moderates in November 2024.
Who is providing security for Donald Trump?
Dozens of agents from the Secret Service, the agency that provides security for presidents, including after the end of their term, are mobilized. The New York branch scouted the route and locations on Monday. The streets along the motorcade will be barricaded on Tuesday, and officers will be with Donald Trump at all times, including in court, where metal detectors will be set up outside the courtroom.
Is there a risk of overflows in New York?
The 35,000 NYPD police officers have been placed on “alert status” and can be deployed if necessary. City Mayor Eric Adams called on potential “troublemakers” to “restrain themselves”, a message he directed to Republican lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Green, who has planned to come out to protest. But he said there was no known specific threat at this time. On the internet, there didn’t appear to be a coordinated effort to stage violent rallies like the Capitol storming.