accusation
US media: Ex-President Trump pleads “not guilty”
Donald Trump sits in the courtroom awaiting the indictment. photo
© Seth Little/AP
A large security presence, protesting Trump supporters, malicious counter-demonstrators and a media spectacle: Donald Trump is the first ex-US President in history to appear in court. And the world is watching.
According to media reports, the 76-year-old pleaded “not guilty” at the reading of the unprecedented charges against former US President Donald Trump in New York. The broadcasters CBS and NBC reported on Tuesday from the current session at the court in New York, which took place behind closed doors. Cameras were not allowed to broadcast the events in the courtroom live. Some journalists were admitted, but were not allowed to drop information from the room.
The indictment was to be read out there and, according to the broadcasters, contains 34 charges. So far, the indictment was kept under lock and key – the exact details of the allegations are therefore still unclear. The case is related to hush money payments to a porn actress. Trump is the first ex-president in US history to face criminal charges.
The district attorney’s office in Manhattan announced the indictment against Trump on Thursday. The case is complicated. Shortly before his election as President in 2016, Trump paid hush money to porn actress Stormy Daniels. She had claimed she had sex with him. Trump denies an affair, but not that money flowed. The payment itself is not illegal. According to the media, however, Trump is accused of having incorrectly billed them and falsifying business documents. He may have violated campaign finance laws.