On Tuesday, former US president Donald Trump will enter a courtroom in Manhattan for his arraignment.
As the first former president to be indicted following a grand jury in Manhattan voting last Thursday to take action, the details of the charges that have been levelled against Mr Trump are still under seal.
His own lawyers don’t yet know what he is being charged with in New York, only that a grand jury heard evidence relating to hush money given to Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election.
However, more details have come to light on what can be expected.
On Monday (US time) the 2024 presidential hopeful will fly to New York from Miami, a source familiar with the plans said, according to Reuters.
It is expected that Mr Trump will turn himself in on Tuesday morning, ahead of his arraignment in the afternoon, The Hill reported.
A court official said the arraignment was scheduled for 2.15pm on Tuesday (4.15am on Wednesday AEST).
The official said the judge has asked both sides to submit their positions on whether cameras and video should be allowed in the courtroom.
When Trump gets to court
At a first appearance, it is customary for people to be booked, fingerprinted and photographed, though there is a chance we may never see his mug shot, unless it is leaked.
Mr Trump will then enter a plea at the courthouse. One of Mr Trump’s defence lawyers, Joe Tacopina, said he will plead not guilty.
“All the Tuesday stuff is still very much up in the air, other than the fact that we will very loudly and proudly say ‘not guilty’,” Mr Tacopina told CNN’s State of the Union program.
Mr Tacopina has also said he believes Mr Trump will not be handcuffed, and expects he will be released without having to post bail.
Typically, at an arraignment, release conditions are discussed and defendants are informed of their rights, CNN reported.
Unlike other arraignments, it is expected there will be added security due to Mr Trump’s high-profile status.
It’s not clear if Mr Trump will be subject to travel restrictions or be confined to his home, however, immediately after the arraignment, he will be leaving New York.
Trump to speak at Mar-a-Lago
Sources have said that after the arraignment, Mr Trump plans to travel back to his adopted home of Florida.
On Tuesday, at Mar-a-Lago, he is expected to host an event, joined by supporters, The Associated Press reported.
He will deliver public remarks at the club, various US outlets have reported.
The Associated Press stated he may try to show a strong and defiant front, while using the charges to his political gain for his election campaign.
Mr Trump has already taken advantage of the indictment. Shortly after it was announced, the Trump camp used the news to fundraise, with CNN reporting that more than $5 million ($7.4 million) has been raised since the indictment.
Trump’s words could haunt him
Donald Trump hasn’t been overly quiet since the grand jury voted to indict him.
Even before the indictment he called on his followers to protest if he were arrested and for them to “take” the nation “back”.
He even went so far as to threaten potential “death and destruction” if he was charged.
The investigation into the money given to Stormy Daniels dates back long before District Attorney Alvin Bragg took office.
However, District Attorney Bragg has become something of a target of Mr Trump’s – the former president even called for his “removal” before the indictment.
Former Manhattan district attorney Cy Vance thinks those statements will come back to bite him.
“I’ve got to say, I was disturbed to hear the former president speak in the way he spoke about the District Attorney Bragg and even the trial court in the past week,” Mr Vance said in an interview on NBC.
He said no one had called him up for his advice, but if he were Mr Trump’s lawyer, he would be mindful of “not committing some other criminal offence“.
“Like obstruction of governmental administration, which is interfering with – by threat or otherwise – the operation of government,” he said.
Trump ‘should not take the stand’
William Barr served as the attorney general when Mr Trump was in the White House and believes there’s one person during the arraignment that shouldn’t be taking the stand.
“Generally, I think it’s a bad idea to go on the stand and I think it’s a particularly bad idea for Trump, because he lacks all self-control and it’d be very difficult to prepare him and keep him testifying in a prudent fashion,” Mr Barr told Fox News.
Mr Barr went on to call the indictment an “abomination”, and said it was politically motivated.
“It’s the epitome of the abuse of prosecutorial power to bring a case that would not be brought against anyone else,” he said.
“They are going after the man, not a crime. And the legal theory, frankly, is pathetically weak.”
