Former President Trump pleads not guilty to 34 counts in Manhattan criminal case

Former President Donald J. Trump surrendered to New York authorities on Tuesday afternoon at a Manhattan courthouse, ready to face charges related to paying adult film actress Stormy Daniels in 2016 as a means of purportedly silencing her about an alleged affair.

Trump entered the courthouse at about 1:45 p.m. after a short trip downtown from Trump Tower in midtown. District Attorney Alvin Bragg was seen walking out of the area where the former president was being processed around 2 p.m.

Trump was arraigned on an indictment of a reported 34 counts, to which he pleaded not guilty.  

Some legal experts have suggested the case may hinge on whether or not Manhattan prosecutors uncovered any new evidence the public is unaware of.

“We all know history is being made, said George Washington law professor Jonathan Turley during an interview on Fox News with hosts John Roberts, Martha MacCallum and Gillian Turner.

Turley added the American public would soon learn what kind of history was being made – bad or good.

“There might be something new in the indictment,” he said and then added, “are there new crimes… we’re going to learn that soon, but the call of history is weighing not only on Donald Trump, but also Alvin Bragg. It’s one thing to indict a former president, but it’s another to do it without cause… this could be his most infamous moment as a prosecutor.”

The charges stem from a five-month-long grand jury Bragg convened in October 2022.

Shortly before Trump emerged from processing, FOX host John Roberts asked, “Could this be a reboot his of the campaign?”

Former Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a staunch critic of Trump’s also released a statement Tuesday afternoon saying America was polarized, and that Trump’s “indictment will not help,” but adding that it would also reaffirm the rule of law.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who represents the State of New York, released a similarly timed statement asserting that he was confident the former president “will have a fair trial.”