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Donald Trump will be arraigned during a hearing scheduled to begin at 2:15 p.m. ET on Tuesday, April 4 with all charges being revealed during his hearing.
The former president arrived in New York on Monday, and proceeded to a heavily protected Trump Tower where he was met by supporters and detractors on the street.
What’s the latest revolving around the case? Here’s a breakdown of what to know this week.
Motion to dismiss
Trump attorney Joseph Tacopina will file a motion to dismiss. “There will be a host of motions we’re going to make, including … a motion to dismiss based on selective prosecution and prosecutorial misconduct,” Tacopina stated.
He is also filing a complaint to DOI Commissioner Jocelyn Strauber, asking the NY Department of Investigation to investigate allegations of prosecutorial misconduct of current and former lead prosecutors of the New York district attorney’s office, who he said had a “personal and political animus” against Trump that motivated their decision to begin investigating the former president. He named Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, former District Attorney Cyrus Vance, and others for their past investigations.
Famous Liberal attorney weighs in
Harvard Law School professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz, a noted liberal constitutional lawyer, is echoing what many scholars on the left and right are saying – that Bragg is stretching the law.
“They’re searching for crimes to get him. They’re just rummaging through the law books and doing everything they can to get him, but I don’t think they’ve succeeded,” he told The Epoch Times in an interview earlier in March.
“It’s not a righteous prosecution. It’s not a just prosecution. And I think every libertarian, whether you’re conservative or liberal, should be opposed to it,” he said.
No cameras in the courtroom
New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan has turned down requests from news outlets who wrote their demands in letter to judge. They included CNN, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post.
Five pool photographers will be allowed inside the courtroom before the arraignment begins, but they will only be allowed to take still photographs for several minutes, Merchan ruled (pdf) late Monday.
Any electronic devices, including cell phones and laptops, will not be allowed in the main or overflow courtrooms, Merchan wrote in the decision. But cameras will be allowed in the hallways of the courtroom.
Indictment fueling donations
Donations have soared to former President Donald Trump’s campaign, with $7 million raised in just three days since he was indicted.
Jason Miller, senior adviser to Trump, made the announcement in a post on Twitter.
Details leaked?
Trump late Monday accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of having illegally leaked the contents of the indictment ahead of his arraignment.
“Wow! District Attorney Bragg just illegally LEAKED the various points, and complete information, on the pathetic Indictment against me,” Trump said on his social media platform TruthSocial at 8:40 p.m. ET.
“I know the reporter and so, unfortunately, does he. This means that he MUST BE IMMEDIATELY INDICTED. Now, if he wants to really clean up his reputation, he will do the honorable thing and, as District Attorney, INDICT HIMSELF. He will go down in Judicial history, and his Trump Hating wife will be, I am sure, very proud of him!”
Trump made the statements after Yahoo News published a report at 8:12 p.m. ET titled, “Exclusive: Trump to be charged Tuesday with 34 felony counts, but spared handcuffs and mug shot.”
The report said that Trump “will be placed under arrest on Tuesday and informed that he has been charged with 34 felony counts for falsification of business records.”
Authored by Michael Isikoff, the outlet’s chief investigative correspondent, the report relies on an unnamed source “who has been briefed on the procedures for the arraignment of the former president.”
Polls, polls, polls
A CNN/SSRS poll finds that 60% of Americans approve of the 76-year-old being indicted in connection with a hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 election, including 37% who strongly approve.
But the poll says those same people believe it’s political.
Overall, 40% disapprove of the indictment, including 25% who strongly disapprove.
When asked how big a part politics played in the indictment, a whopping 76% said it played some part, with 52% saying it was a major reason and 23% saying it played a minor part.
Only 14% said they thought politics had no part in the decision, while 10% said they weren’t sure.
As for the 2024 election, a Trafalgar Group poll shows that support for Trump winning the GOP primaries has gone from a pre-indictment 43.8% to 56.2%, giving him a large lead over his competitors.
Trump to address nation
After the hearing, Trump is scheduled to return to Florida, where he is set to address the nation in an 8:15 p.m. ET speech from his Mar-a-Lago home.
“I think the entire world will be watching just how strong and just how fervent he is, that we must continue this Make America Great Again movement, because you can’t have Trump policies without President Trump,” Trump adviser Jason Miller says.
–Compiled by Metro Voice from wire services
