Former President Trump held a rally at his Mar-A-Lago home in Florida hours after being criminally charged with 34 felony counts, which hold a maximum sentence of 136 years in prison.
Trump arrived Wednesday at the sealed-off courthouse in Manhattan in a Secret Service motorcade, where he was taken into custody, processed, and then taken upstairs to face the judge. His arraignment is the first step in what’s expected to be a lengthy legal battle.
While he was being charged, demonstrators on both sides gathered at a nearby park, including prominent Trump supporter, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Inside the courtroom, with no TV cameras allowed, a simple photograph and courtroom sketch show the hour-long proceeding. Trump pled not guilty on all charges.
“These are felony crimes in New York State, no matter who you are,” said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Trump is charged with falsifying business records. And Bragg alleges he conducted an illegal “catch and kill scheme” that would violate new York’s election law, to buy and suppress negative information to help him win the presidential election. Bragg also claims Trump made false statements to tax authorities.
“As part of this scheme, Mr. Trump and others made three payments to people who claim to have negative information about Mr. Trump,” said Bragg.
Payments in question include a $130,000 payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels over an alleged affair. Next, $150,000 is alleged to have gone to another woman who also claimed a sexual relationship with Trump. And finally, $30,000 was allegedly paid to a former doorman at Trump Tower.
Former Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor told CBN’s Faith Nation the prosecution charges fall short.
“The fact is, this is an incredibly weak indictment,” said O’Connor. “This indictment, it seems to have a sense of specificity with these 33 payments, financial records that were not logged correctly. But it doesn’t tell what the other crime is. That’s the key to the indictment but the prosecutor doesn’t say what crime it is that he covered up.”
And Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy is accusing Bragg of weaponizing the legal system for political gain, warning that Congress may investigate Bragg for what he’s doing. “Bragg’s weaponization of the federal justice process will be held accountable by Congress,” McCarthy said.
Alvin Bragg is attempting to interfere in our democratic process by invoking federal law to bring politicized charges against President Trump, admittedly using federal funds, while at the same time arguing that the peoples’ representatives in Congress lack jurisdiction to…
— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) April 4, 2023
After his indictment, Trump flew back to Mar-a-Lago for a rally with his supporters.
“I never thought anything like this in America could happen,” Trump said. “The only crime I’ve committed is to fearlessly save this nation from those who seek to destroy it.”
Trump’s next hearing is scheduled for December – roughly two months before the start of the 2024 primaries. Meanwhile, he’s facing other investigations and potential charges, including accusations of election interference in Georgia.