Former United States President Donald Trump has arrived in New York via private jet ahead of a court appearance set to take place on Tuesday where he will face criminal charges.
Last Thursday, he became the first former president to face criminal charges after he was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury. The charges relate to a hush money payment Trump made to former adult movie star Stormy Daniels.
A formal reading of the criminal charges against Trump will be read during his first court appearance. His lawyers have said that he will deny the charges.
Trump lands in New York
Trump arrived on Monday at the LaGuardia airport in New York after making the almost three-hour journey from Florida. He landed in his private jet, informally dubbed “Trump Force One”.
The former president then made his way to Trump Tower, his residence in Manhattan, where it is expected that he will meet with his legal team to make final preparations to face legal charges.
Despite the buzz and speculation surrounding his arrival, Trump made it to the skyscraper without attracting much attention. Members of the media and the general public gathered around Trump Tower to catch a glimpse of the former president, but few realized that he had even arrived.
He will likely then spend the night in his penthouse which is spread across the top three floors of the skyscraper.
It is still unclear what charges will be levied against the former president. After the arraignment in Manhattan, he is scheduled to fly back to Florida where he is set to make a speech in front of some of his supporters at approximately 20:15 local time.
Why is the former president facing charges?
In 2016, Daniels contacted media outlets and offered to sell the story of what she claimed was an adulterous affair with Trump which took place in 2006.
The former president has denied any involvement with the adult movie star since the allegations became public in 2018.
Nevertheless, when Trump’s team became aware that Daniels was offering to sell the story to the media, lawyer Michael Cohen paid her $130,000 to remain quiet.
This itself is not illegal. However, when Trump reimbursed Cohen for the payment, he listed the payment as a legal fee. According to prosecutors, this amounts to falsifying business records and is a misdemeanor (a criminal offense less severe than a felony) in New York.
Prosecutors could potentially make the claim that Trump also broke election law. This would be on the basis that efforts to conceal the payments to Daniels were made to hide the alleged affair from voters in order to maintain political support.
Concealing a crime by falsifying records would count as a felony, which is a more serious charge carrying heavier penalties.
A conviction for a misdemeanor would result in a fine, whereas for a felony, the former president could face a maximum of four years in prison, although even in the latter case a fine would still be more likely.
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