A defence lawyer haggling over the details of Donald Trump’s surrender has revealed the former president will not be handcuffed as he prepares to face a New York court.
While the specific charges remain under seal, CNN reports Mr Trump is facing more than 30 counts relating to business fraud.
Court officials confirmed Mr Trump is due to appear for his historic arraignment at 2.15pm on Tuesday (local time), which is expected to require extreme security measures.
The indictment was handed down on Friday (AEDT) by a grand jury probing a hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels during Mr Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Mr Trump’s lawyer Joe Tacopina said in a media interview Mr Trump would likely be fingerprinted and undergo other routine protocols.
He said Mr Trump would likely be released without having to post bail.
“I don’t know how all this is going to go down,” Mr Tacopina cautioned in an interview.
“There’s no textbook to see how you arraign a former president of the United States in criminal court.”
He told Reuters: “He’s ready to fight. He’s gearing up.”
Mr Tacopina said Mr Trump and his defence team were surprised by news of the indictment.
“Initially we were all shocked. Didn’t believe they were actually going to go through with this because there’s no crime here,” Mr Tacopina said.
A New York judge on Friday authorised Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to make the charges public but it was not clear when he would do so.
Stormy Daniels speaks
As Mr Trump became the first US President in history to be indicted on criminal charges, the woman at the centre of the scandal was preparing to speak out.
Adult film star Stormy Daniels was due to give a live interview to journalist Piers Morgan on Saturday morning (7am AEDT time).
Mr Morgan cancelled his planned holiday to reveal the bombshell scoop.
“I’ve got the first world exclusive interview with the woman who sparked the scandal. Tune into @PiersUncensored at 9pm for my live interview with Stormy Daniels,” Mr Morgan tweeted.
However in breaking news minutes before the interview on Saturday morning (AEDT), Morgan made an abrupt announcement.
Tweet from @piersmorgan
Earlier, Ms Daniels’ lawyer told USA Today she “feels bad” that Mr Trump has been charged”.
“But on the other hand, truly, she knew what the facts were, and she wants him to deal with the truth as well,” said lawyer Clark Brewster.
“So from that perspective, there’s a degree of feeling like the system is working.”
Meanwhile Mr Trump has lashed out online at the judge he is expected to appear before.
On a Truth Social post, he said Judge Juan Merchan “HATES” him and accused the judge of “railroading” former Trump Organisation chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg in a previous case.
Mr Trump also called the allegations against him a “Witch Hunt Case”.
For nearly two weeks, Mr Trump has been using the legal threats he confronts to raise money and rally supporters as he seeks his party’s nomination to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden next year.
Mr Trump’s claims of political interference have been echoed by many of his fellow Republicans and his potential rivals in the 2024 race.
- Related story: Donald Trump’s indictment explained — what comes next
Republicans back Trump
Former vice-president Mike Pence, whose life was threatened after Trump incited an insurrection at the US Capitol, told CNN the charges were “outrageous”.
“I’m very troubled by it,” Mr Pence, a possible 2024 candidate, said in another interview at the National Review’s Ideas Summit.
“There are dictators and authoritarians around the world that will point to that to justify their own abuse of their own so-called justice system,” Mr Pence, Trump’s former vice president, said.
The historic indictment has thrust the 2024 US presidential election into uncharted territory.
In an acknowledgement of the sway the former president holds with the voters who will decide the GOP contest next year, those eyeing a primary challenge to Trump were quick to criticise the indictment.
Without naming Mr Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called the move “un-American”.
Former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, who has already declared her candidacy, blasted the indictment as “more about revenge than it is about justice”.
Former secretary of state Mike Pompeo, who is mulling a run, accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of “undermining America’s confidence in our legal system”.
The indictment raises profound questions for the party’s future, particularly as Trump faces the possibility of additional charges soon in Atlanta and Washington.
While that might galvanise his supporters, the turmoil could threaten Republicans’ standing in the very swing-state suburbs that have abandoned the party in three successive elections, eroding its grip on the White House, Congress and key governorships.
Polls show Mr Trump remains the undisputed frontrunner for the Republican nomination, and his standing has not faltered, even amid widespread reporting on the expected charges.
Indeed, Mr Trump’s campaign began fundraising off the news almost immediately after it broke, emailing supporters with the all-caps subject line “BREAKING: PRESIDENT TRUMP INDICTED.”
President Joe declined to comment on Friday as he left the White House for a trip to storm-ravaged Mississippi.
