Donald Trump is set to speak in Florida on Tuesday night after his scheduled arraignment in New York on charges related to hush money payments to a porn star before the 2016 election.
His campaign said he will deliver “remarks” at his Mar-a-Lago estate after returning from Manhattan, where he is expected to voluntarily turn himself in.
The 76-year-old politician is expected to be arraigned, fingerprinted and photographed at a Manhattan courthouse on Tuesday as he becomes the first former US president to face criminal charges.
Trump, a 2024 presidential candidate, is facing multiple charges of falsifying business records in the indictment handed down by a Manhattan grand jury last week, including at least one felony offence, the Associated Press reported.
His indictment came after a grand jury voted to indict him over possible offences related to a $130,000 (£105,000) payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential election campaign.
It was allegedly made in exchange for Daniels’ silence about an alleged sexual encounter she said she had with Trump a decade earlier.
The indictment itself has remained sealed, which is typical in New York before an arraignment.
On Sunday, Mr Trump’s lawyer Joe Tacopina said in televised interviews that he would pore over the indictment when he gets it and then devise the next legal steps.
He said it was premature to discuss whether he would ask for a venue change or file a motion to dismiss, though it is common for defence lawyers to do both.
“We’re way too early to start deciding what motions we’re going to file or not file, and we do need to see the indictment and get to work,” he told ABC’s This Week, adding: “I mean, look, this is the beginning.”
Trump will reportedly fly to New York on Monday and stay at his Trump Tower in Manhattan overnight ahead of his planned arraignment on Tuesday.
He is expected to report to the courthouse early on Tuesday morning, where he will be fingerprinted and have a mug shot taken.
But he won’t be handcuffed when he surrenders because of a deal agreed between Trump’s legal team and prosecutors in Manhattan, Mr Tacopina said.
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Investigators will then complete arrest paperwork and check if the former president has any outstanding criminal charges or warrants.
Trump will appear before Justice Juan Merchan of the criminal court in Manhattan for an afternoon arraignment once the booking is complete.
Judge Merchan also presided over a criminal trial last year in the same courtroom in which Trump’s real estate company was convicted of tax fraud, though the former president himself was not charged.
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Trump lashed out at Judge Merchan on Friday, saying he hates him and treated the Trump Organisation “viciously”.
But on Sunday, Mr Tacopina sidestepped questions about whether Trump’s team will seek to have a new judge assigned.
“I have no issue with this judge whatsoever. He has a very good reputation,” Mr Tacopina said.
