Donald Trump was charged with 34 counts of a felony last Tuesday. He was indicted last week which marks a first among American presidents.
He was called to go to New York and participate in the court. Trump then was arrested in New York and taken to the court.
The ex-president had to go through the legal process of scanning fingerprints and having a mugshot taken, reports say that Trump was insisting on the mugshot be taken, but his team announced that the mugshot is private information and will not be unveiled.
Trump was accused of being involved in a scheme to cover up the sex scandal with Ms. Daniels before the 2016 election by the prosecutor.
Read the full Trump Indictment and Statement of Facts here.
Trump Pleaded Not Guilty
As expected, Donald Trump pleaded Not Guilty to all 34 charges. These charges are all about the hush money payment to Stormy Daniels.
Porn Star Stormy Daniels claims that Trump and her had an affair in 2006 and that she was paid 130,000 dollars in 2016 to stay quiet about it.
The problem is that the payment was paid by Trump's lawyer at the time, Mr. Cohen, and he received money later on from Trump during his presidency.
Trump's payments to Mr cohen are the focus of this case and Trump is being accused of falsifying business records.
The session on Tuesday was the result of a five-year investigation done by the Manhattan grand jury and the Manhattan District attorney.
So, it is highly unlikely to expect another court session anytime soon. The legal process is lengthy and expensive. It might take years for the final results.
After the session, Trump headed directly to his house in Florida, Mar-a-Lago. Trump conducted a speech and appeared in front of journalists and his fans.
He spoke against Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg and called him "the real criminal." He also called out Jack Smith, the special prosecutor who is investigating Jan 6th a "lunatic."
How Does This Affect Trump's Race for Presidency?
Bear in mind that even after the indictment and arrest, Trump still remains the most popular Republican candidate. With 20 percentage points over DeSantis.
Trump knows one thing best and that is to gain benefits from the obstacles he faces along his way. Many Republican figures and faces consider Trump's indictment his ticket to the 2024 presidency. Trump is gaining massive support from his audience, and he is again on the first page of every News page.
Many say "Trump is Back" comparing this time to 2016 and how Trump is becoming as popular as he was in 2016.
Now with the indictment on, any attack towards Trump from Republicans is considered a betrayal. Simply no other Republican candidate can go for Trump, they will be accused of working for the "enemy". Being a competition to Trump was hard already, but now it is impossible.
2Wrapping up
Trump's challenges are not over and there will be more obstacles, even if he wins the election.
There are still threats to a possible Trump win, such as Electric Voting Machines and early voting. Plus the aura isn't stabilized within the Republican party, and the fact that there is no room for competition makes it hard for candidates to adjust.
