Trump pleads ‘Not Guilty’ to 34 felony charges

NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Tuesday to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, according to two law enforcement officials familiar with the matter.

The plea came during a brief arraignment in a lower Manhattan courtroom as Trump faced a grand jury indictment arising from a hush money payment to a porn actor during Trump’s 2016 campaign.

The arraignment, though procedural in nature, amounts to a remarkable reckoning for Trump after years of investigations into his personal, business and political dealings. The case is unfolding against the backdrop not only of his third campaign for the White House but also against other investigations in Washington and Atlanta that might yet produce even more charges.

A silent and stone-faced Trump, his lips pursed in apparent anger, entered the courtroom shortly before 2:30 p.m. without saying anything. Minutes earlier, he narrated his feelings in real time, describing the experience as “SURREAL” as he traveled from Trump Tower to lower Manhattan to face a judge as the first former president in American history to be criminally prosecuted.

Wearing his signature dark suit and red tie, Trump turned and waved to crowds outside the building before heading inside to be fingerprinted and processed. He arrived at court in an eight-car motorcade from Trump Tower, communicating in real time his anger at the process.

“Heading to Lower Manhattan, the Courthouse,” the voluble ex-president posted on his Truth Social platform. “Seems so SURREAL — WOW, they are going to ARREST ME. Can’t believe this is happening in America. MAGA!”