Trump pleads not guilty to 34 charges in Manhattan courthouse (includes video story)

Former U.S. President Donald Trump surrendered to authorities in Manhattan yesterday and pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts. 

Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg charged Trump with falsifying business documents, which is the lowest class of felony in New York state law. 

In a press conference after the arraignment, Bragg said, “Why did Donald Trump repeatedly make these false statements? The evidence will show that he did so to cover up crimes relating to the 2016 election.”

Trump is being accused of making payments to three people to “suppress negative information to help Mr. Trump’s chances of winning the election,” according to Bragg. 

Those recipients include adult film star Stormy Daniels, who claimed to have had an affair with Trump. She says she was paid $130,000 as hush money by Michael Cohen, who was Trump’s attorney. 

Trump faces 11 counts related to Cohen’s falsified invoices for legal fees, 11 counts connected to the real estate magnate’s checks to reimburse Cohen and 12 counts related to accounting records.

Ahead of the trial, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer tweeted, “I believe that Donald Trump will have a fair trial that follows the facts and the law.”

Trump supporters rallied outside of the Manhattan courthouse to support Trump as he walked in, but many did not know he was already. According to the Guardian, members of Trump’s opposition were dancing and singing while his supporters were silent. 

Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene made a quick appearance at the rally with a megaphone, shouting, “President Trump did nothing wrong.” Rep. George Santos also attended the rally organized by the New York Young Republican Club, but both Republican representatives left the rally within minutes.

In an interview with Right Side Broadcasting, Rep. Greene said “President Trump is joining some of the most incredible people in history being arrested today. Nelson Mandela was arrested; served time in prison. Jesus was arrested and murdered by the Roman government.”

Greene also attended the former president’s talk at Mar-a-lago, where he addressed his supporters. That 27-minute speech focused on his presidential campaign, attacked Bragg and reinforced his innocence. 

“The only crime that I have committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it,” Trump said.

A new ABC poll showed that 45% of Americans believe Trump should be charged with a crime, compared to 88% of Democrats and 16% of Republicans. 

Even though he has been indicted, he can still run for president.  The Constitution does not specify that otherwise. 

Jessica Levinson, director of Loyola Law School, said, “That could be because the founders just didn’t envision that we would have people who are facing indictment and potentially conviction running for the highest office in the land.”

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is running for the Republican presidential nomination. She agrees with Trump that Bragg is trying to take revenge.

The former president is also currently involved in a Georgia criminal inquiry over the 2020 election, a criminal investigation into his handling of classified documents and his alleged role in the January 6 Capitol insurrection. 

His defense team said it will file motions to get the case dismissed. Trump also suggested filing a motion to transfer his case out of Manhattan. His next scheduled court date is on December 4, meaning that the trial may not start until January 2024. 

Sabrina Beguiristain made the video story and Sofia Zuniga authored the written story.

Sabrina Beguiristain is a Florida International University student majoring in digital journalism. She is passionate about both visual and auditory media such as broadcasting and podcasts. In the near future, Sabrina hopes to produce creative forms of news to emphasize events and stories that should be shared.

Associate Editor

Sofia Zuñiga is a Digital Journalism student, completing a minor in Social Media and E-Marketing Analytics, and a certificate in Queer Studies. Currently, she is an NBCU DEI fellow, with an interest in LGBTQ topics and social issues.