Following his historic indictment on criminal charges, Donald Trump was preparing to go to a prosecutor’s office on Friday to be booked, fingerprinted, and have his mugshot taken.
Trump’s impending arrest, which is expected on Tuesday, throws a political grenade into the 2024 presidential election, in which the 76-year-old real estate tycoon hopes to reclaim the White House.
When pressed by reporters on Friday, President Joe Biden repeatedly refused to comment on the fate of the Republican candidate he defeated in the 2020 election and may face again in November of next year.
“I don’t have anything to say about Trump,” Biden said.
Following his historic indictment on criminal charges, Donald Trump was preparing to go to a prosecutor’s office on Friday to be booked, fingerprinted, and have his mugshot taken.
Trump’s impending arrest, which is expected on Tuesday, throws a political grenade into the 2024 presidential election, in which the 76-year-old real estate tycoon hopes to reclaim the White House.
When pressed by reporters on Friday, President Joe Biden repeatedly refused to comment on the fate of the Republican candidate he defeated in the 2020 election and may face again in November of next year.
“I don’t have anything to say about Trump,” Biden said.
“The president will not be handcuffed,” said one of Trump’s attorneys, Joe Tacopina, “but I’m sure they’ll try to make sure they get some joy out of this by parading him.”
Tacopina told NBC’s “Today” show that Trump would plead not guilty and that there was “zero” chance he would accept a plea deal. “Not going to happen.” There isn’t any crime.”
According to his attorney, Trump was initially “shocked” by the indictment, but “he’s now in the posture that he’s ready to fight this.”
In predicting his indictment, Trump called for protests and warned that the country would face “potential death and destruction.”
– ‘Disgraceful’ –
“They only brought this Fake, Corrupt, and Disgraceful Charge against me because I stand with the American People, and they know I can’t get a fair trial in New York!” he said on his social media platform Truth Social.
Trump survived two impeachment proceedings while in the White House and kept prosecutors at bay over everything from the US Capitol riot to missing classified files — only to find himself in court over a sex scandal involving Stormy Daniels, a 44-year-old adult film actress.
Top Republicans have rallied behind the former president, who remains the party’s favorite to win the presidential nomination in 2024 despite potential legal problems that go beyond the New York indictment.
Trump is being investigated for felony charges in Georgia related to the 2020 election, as well as in Washington for both the classified files and the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol by his supporters.
The top Republican in the House, Kevin McCarthy, said the indictment had “irreparably harmed” the country.
Trump’s former vice president and potential 2024 challenger Mike Pence called it an “outrage” that would “further divide” the country.
– 2024 impact –
Trump’s ex-lawyer Michael Cohen testified to Congress in 2019 that he paid Daniels on Trump’s behalf to conceal a 2006 tryst and was later reimbursed.
The grand jury that indicted Trump was asked to consider whether there was a cover-up to help Trump’s campaign by burying the scandal.
The impact of the hush-money indictment on Trump’s 2024 election chances is unknown.
Detractors fear that if Trump is cleared, any future indictment in arguably more serious cases, such as Trump’s efforts to overturn Georgia’s election results or the January 6 riot, will be muddied.
The Manhattan charges are also likely to increase turnout among Trump’s supporters, boosting his chances in the Republican Party primary.
