Trump’s lawyers continued to maintain the former president’s innocence on Thursday.
“President Trump has been impeached. He committed no crime,” attorneys Joe Tacopina and Susan Necheles said in a statement. “We will vigorously fight this impeachment in court.”
Trump issued a statement shortly after news of the impeachment broke, calling it a «witch hunt» and saying the move was an attempt by Democrats to interfere in the 2024 election.
“This is political persecution and election interference at the highest level in history,” Trump wrote in his statement. «Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to ‘get Trump,’ but now they have done the unthinkable: indicted a completely innocent person in an act of blatant election interference.»
Trump also went after District Attorney Alvin Bragg, saying he was «doing Joe Biden’s dirty work.»
The district attorney’s office requested that Trump surrender on Friday, but Trump’s lawyers countered that the schedule was too tight and said the US Secret Service needed more time to prepare, according to an enforcement official. the law. Tacopina confirmed the exchange, adding that no date had been set for the former president’s handover.
«Tonight we reached out to Mr. Trump’s attorney to arrange his delivery to the Manhattan district attorney’s office for arraignment in a Supreme Court indictment, which remains sealed,» a spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office said. of district. «Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected.»
Trump has already tried to use the charges to rally his base, calling on his supporters to protest and «take back our nation.» But there is no precedent for a presidential candidate campaigning during his own criminal trial. And while the case could extend beyond November 2024, a conviction before then would raise a host of constitutional issues.
Despite concerns that Trump’s impeachment could spark protests from his supporters, a spokesman for New York Mayor Eric Adams said Thursday there were no credible threats of violence.
“The NYPD continues to monitor all activity and there are no credible threats to the city at this time,” Adams spokesman Fabien Levy said. «The NYPD always remains ready to respond to events on the ground and keep New Yorkers safe.» An NYPD spokesman confirmed that all officers had been ordered to report in uniform by 7 a.m. Friday.
Dozens of court and police officers invaded lower Manhattan after the indictment was announced. A helicopter was flying overhead. Outside the courthouse, a handful of pro-indictment protesters praised the grand jury’s decision.
Bragg left the courthouse shortly after 7:00 pm and got into his car without answering any questions from reporters. The cops surrounded his black van. A group of about 10 pro-impeachment protesters put up a 25-foot banner in front of the courthouse reading «Trump lies all the time.»
“I am here celebrating the fact that one of the most evil men on the planet has been detained at least temporarily,” said Robert Hoatson, 71, who drove from West Orange, New Jersey, after watching the news on television. “I am very proud to be an American today.”
Hoatson runs a non-profit organization for victims of sexual abuse. He was holding two signs, one that said «Throw away the key» and the other that said «Lock him up.»
Trump’s indictment follows the unrelated December conviction of his family business, the Trump Organization, for tax fraud in a case that was also prosecuted by Bragg.
Trump’s indictment stems from the 2018 federal conviction of his former attorney Michael Cohen, who pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations for facilitating the payment to Daniels. That payment came during the heart of the 2016 presidential campaign. And both Cohen and federal prosecutors have said he acted «in coordination with and at the direction» of the former president.
“I stand by my testimony and the evidence that I provided to the New York district attorney,” Cohen said Thursday during an interview on MSNBC. While the prosecution is «significant,» Cohen said, «it is extremely important that we let the process work and that people still understand that there is a presumption of innocence in this country.»
The Trump Organization later reimbursed Cohen for the payment to Daniels, prosecutors said in court documents. Company executives authorized $420,000 in payments to Cohen in an effort to cover his original pay and his tax liability, and to reward him with a bonus, according to prosecutors. The Trump Organization falsely recorded those payments on their books as legal expenses, prosecutors said.
On Thursday, Daniels’ attorney, Clark Brewster, said he had spoken to Daniels on the phone and believed she was «relieved» by the news.
«I think she’s relieved,» Brewster said during an interview on CNN. «It’s a fight against her rejection of the truth and her fabrication of stories that really motivated her to try to cooperate in some way, certainly to get the truth out there.»
Federal prosecutors from the Manhattan US Attorney’s office later launched a criminal investigation to determine whether those payments violated campaign finance law, but later ended the investigation without filing charges.
The company’s former chief financial officer, Allen H. Weisselberg, who was granted immunity by federal prosecutors in their investigation of the secret money that led to the charges against Cohen, pleaded guilty to an unrelated tax fraud scheme in August 2022. .
Cohen testified before the grand jury in the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation into Trump. It is not clear if Weisselberg, who is now serving a five-month prison sentence, was also called as a witness.
Although the district attorney’s office offered Trump the chance to testify before the grand jury before his indictment, he refused to do so.
The impeachment is sure to cloud Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and trigger a series of unprecedented scenarios. If he pleads not guilty and the case goes to trial, a process that can take many months, he could face the prospect of campaigning for the White House while he undergoes a criminal trial. And if he were to win a second term while facing or serving a prison sentence, that would raise a host of constitutional issues.
Trump has said that an impeachment would not prevent him from campaigning for another term. Asked if he would stay in the 2024 race if he was indicted, Trump told reporters at CPAC in March: “Oh, absolutely. He wouldn’t even think about leaving.» He has said his supporters were «very upset» by the multiple investigations he faces, adding that he thought the investigations would «improve» his poll numbers.
Throughout his presidency and in his post-White House life, Trump has portrayed himself as the victim of partisan «witch-hunt» investigations targeting him and his businesses. That claim has been largely echoed by his fellow Republicans, though it remains to be seen whether those running for the party’s presidential nomination will side with Trump or write him off.
At least one possible 2024 Republican challenger, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, has said that Trump should finish your campaign if it is loaded
“It is a dark day for the United States when a former president is indicted on criminal charges,” Hutchinson said in a statement following news of the indictment. «Donald Trump should not be the next president, but that should be decided by the voters.»
Former Vice President Mike Pence, another possible 2024 Republican contender, called the impeachment «an outrage» but declined to say whether Trump should drop out of the race if convicted.
“It’s a long road to that decision. I promised to answer that question if it comes up,» Pence said during an interview on CNN Thursday night. «There’s a chance a judge might even throw this case out before we go to trial, so I don’t want to talk about hypotheticals,» Pence told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.