INDICTMENT! Trump Pleads Not Guilty

There are so many things that happened today. Everyone was paying attention to former president Donald Trump.

Today, Trump arrived at the New York Supreme Court for his arraignment. Unfortunately, there was no televised event. Instead, one photo from the court is shared on every media outlet. In the photo, we can see Trump sitting with his lawyers in the courtroom in his famous blue blazer and a red tie. For the whole morning, according to Pacific time, all news channels and newspapers were reporting live and keeping updated on what was happening to Trump. Perhaps you’ve known already that they only kept the shot in front of the courthouse to wait for Trump to come out. When he came out, he didn’t answer any questions from the reporters.

Source: Seth Wenig/AP

When he came to the courthouse, his supporters, aka MAGA followers, were outside to show their support for their president. Trump's supporters and opponents have been separated by a fence erected by police to maintain order, although there have been some confrontations. Hundreds of Trump supporters in a park across from the Manhattan courthouse cheered and whistled, outnumbering the protesters. Trump's opponents held up posters, including a picture of Trump wearing a striped prison uniform behind bars and another that read "Lock him up."It was no surprise when they did that as long as they kept it peaceful with no violence. It is a good sign.

As we had expected, there was no arrest being made, Trump was not taken into custody, no mugshot or fingerprint. Trump pleaded not guilty under 34 charges against him relating to the hush money he paid the adult film actress Stormy Daniels. You can read the full statement of facts here. Trump was accused of “Falsifying business records in the first degree” in violation of Penal Law §175.10. Thirty-four charges, can you believe it? He will be sentenced to four years on each count if found guilty. The charges carry a maximum sentence of more than 100 years in prison under New York law, but if Mr. Trump is convicted at a trial, the actual prison sentence will almost certainly be much lower than that. By then, he could join the J6 choir, which sang “The Star Spangled Banner” in prison. They are all imprisoned for the January 6th riot. It will be fun.

I will talk about it later. Now, let’s talk about what happened today. As I said from the beginning, so many things are happening today. I will make it short.

Some evidence against Trump was captured in a September 2016 audio recording when he and his attorney discussed how to block information about his love affair. Mr. Trump's reimbursement check to Michael Cohen, his former attorney, for payments claimed the money was for hush-money payments The indictment alleges Mr. Trump falsified the books of his real estate company for fraud.

Trump, the primary candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, previously described the allegations as politically motivated. Trump had returned to Florida and delivered remarks from his Mar-a-Lago resort.

While falsifying New York business records is a misdemeanor punishable by no more than one year in prison, it can be elevated to a felony with up to four years in prison when done to commit or conceal another crime.

A Manhattan grand jury convened by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged Trump with a $130,000 payment to Daniels during the final days of the 2016 presidential campaign, which was paid to remain silent about her affair and sex with Trump at a Lake Tahoe hotel in 2006. Brag said to the reporters in a press conference after Trump’s arraignment. “Everyone stands equal before the law. No amount of money or power changes that enduring American principle.”

Cohen said he worked with Trump to spend funds on Daniels and McDougal. However, Trump denied having sex with either woman but admitted to paying Cohen back.

Trump had returned to Florida and gave a speech on the arraignment. In the video, we can see that his supporters were all there. The announcer said aloud, “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the next president of the United States, President Donald J. Trump,” as he walked out, and the song “God Bless the USA” by Lee Greenwood was on. “The only crime that I've committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it,” Trump said. And he went on to criticize the democrats and the unfairness that they treated him, which I think he was talking about double standards. Like, there are so many bad things that the Democrats or former presidents did. Why was Trump the only one to be prosecuted? I am not defending Trump here, but I think they must be held accountable if someone did something wrong against the laws. In his closing remark, Trump said there was a “very dark cloud over our beloved country.” I am not sure how much he loves the U.S., but he made several enemies in his life.

The next in-person hearing date for Trump in New York is currently set for December 4

That’s all for today. I will return for more.