What to know about Trump’s indictment
- Former President Donald Trump is expected to be arraigned on about 30 charges in New York tomorrow.
- The indictment remains sealed, so the exact charges are still unknown. They are expected to be related to hush money payments made ahead of the 2016 election to two women who claimed to have had affairs with Trump. He has denied the affairs and any wrongdoing.
- Trump was indicted last week by a Manhattan grand jury convened by District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
- Trump is the first former president to have been impeached twice and the first to be criminally indicted.
- Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., plans to host a protest with Trump supporters in New York at 10:30 a.m. ET tomorrow.
Judge bars use of digital devices in courtroom but will allow some photographers before arraignment begins
In an order tonight, Judge Juan Merchan said no cellphones, laptops or broadcast equipment can be used in the courtroom during Trump’s hearing tomorrow.
Cameras will be allowed briefly in the courtroom for photographs before the arraignment begins at 2:15 p.m., Merchan said.
Trump's legal team asked Merchan to deny a request from media organizations, including NBC News, to allow access for "a limited number" of videographers, photographers and radio journalists, as well as print reporters, at Trump's arraignment.
The news organizations had also asked Merchan to permit the immediate unsealing of Trump’s indictment. The indictment has not been unsealed.
In their letter opposing the media request, Trump's lawyers had suggested that granting the level of media access sought by the coalition of news organizations would "create a circus-like atmosphere at the arraignment" and raise "unique security concerns."
Trump lawyer says a gag order would 'set ablaze' tensions surrounding the case
Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina said today that if Judge Juan Merchan were to issue a gag order against the former president, it would “really set ablaze the passions and the tempers that already have been inflamed by this case.”
Tacopina, however, predicted that the judge would not issue an order that could prevent Trump from speaking about the case.
"Obviously, that's not going to happen," Tacopina told Fox News’ Sean Hannity when he was asked about the possibility. "There's no scenario where that's going to happen, I'm sure of that."
Trump had warned of "potential death and destruction" if he were to be indicted.
Tacopina went on to say Trump planned to plead "very loudly 'not guilty' before the judge," adding that Trump's legal team was preparing to file "a host of motions," including a motion to dismiss the case, citing what Tacopina argued was selective prosecution and prosecutorial misconduct.
Trump’s online war machine trains its weapons on Ron DeSantis
The fake video of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dunking on himself is surreal, the stuff of former President Donald Trump’s fantasies.
“Today, we’re seeing the success of our uniparty NeverTrump campaign,” DeSantis, who is Trump’s leading rival for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, says in the video. “Yes, we’re 30 points behind in polling with zero credibility. But now, Trump’s been indicted. Now, the people will have no choice but to accept me as their assigned candidate, and finally we can sweep the GOP establishment back into power.”
Standing in front of a lectern bearing a “Stealing Your Future” sign, DeSantis concludes with “Hail Hydra,” a reference to the Nazi-rooted criminal enterprise of the Marvel universe, and “Please clap” — words once uttered by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush during his failed 2016 presidential campaign.
It’s obviously bogus — a parody posted by pro-Trump tweeter @ramble_rants — and would fool few viewers. But the smoothly altered video is emblematic of the way a small army of Trump-aligned social media influencers has honed its tools in the early phase of the 2024 presidential campaign.
Trump’s online war machine is training those virtual weapons on DeSantis and has repeatedly attached him to another enemy — Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg — in the run-up to Trump’s arraignment Tuesday. The goal is to portray DeSantis as insufficiently supportive of Trump at a time when most Republicans are rallying to his side.
NYU warns employees of potential protests ahead of Trump's arraignment
New York University today told its employees to be prepared for potentially “significant demonstrations" leading up to Trump's arraignment tomorrow.
"While City authorities have not shared word of any specific threats or anticipated violence, they are very publicly making preparations in the event that any protests or demonstrations do become disruptive," Fountain Walker, the school’s vice president for global campus safety, said in a memo. "With that in mind, I wanted to urge NYU employees to take extra care as you move about the city this evening and tomorrow."
Many of NYU’s main buildings are in lower Manhattan, surrounding Washington Square Park, just over a mile from the courthouse where Trump's arraignment is scheduled to take place tomorrow.
Ex-RNC chair 'really annoyed' by TV coverage of Trump's motorcade
Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, an MSNBC political analyst, told host Nicolle Wallace he was “annoyed” by the live coverage of Trump’s motorcade after the former president landed in New York.
“I’m really annoyed that we’re actually watching this unfold this way,” Steele said. “We’re not outraged by it, we’re not turned off by it, we’re not disgusted by it — we’re actually intrigued, and we’re curious. And it literally is like watching a reality TV series, and this is the next episode.”
Steele, a longtime critic, added that Trump should no longer be the primary concern for Republicans or the country. “We have to do some real hard-core soul-searching and re-evaluating of what our priorities are, because this shouldn’t be it,” he said.
Wallace said that while she shared Steele’s “queasiness,” there's still importance to following Trump's moves.
“We’re not taking a motorcade because Trump announced a rally in Manhattan. We’re taking a motorcade because Trump has to appear in court tomorrow to be arraigned,” she said.
Lindsey Graham says indictment 'almost ensures' Trump will be GOP nominee
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said the grand jury's indictment "almost ensures" Trump will be the Republican nominee in 2024.
“I think it almost ensures that Trump will be the nominee, and I think independents are going to see this for what it is — it’s just a liberal prosecutor out of control,” Graham said today in an interview on Sean Hannity's radio show.
Graham also accused Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg of trying to "taint" Trump, adding that he believed the efforts would lead to "backlash" from voters and end up unifying Republicans.
"I don’t think anything Donald Trump could have done himself would have united the Republican Party like this action by the Manhattan DA," Graham said. "The Manhattan DA has done something that I’ve never thought was possible to unite the entire Republican Party."
Rep. Matt Gaetz to be at Trump's speech
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., one of Trump's most vocal supporters, told NBC News that he will be at Mar-a-Lago for the former president's speech tomorrow night.
Rep. Greene has also confirmed she'll be there.
Trump won't be leaving Trump Tower until tomorrow, officials say
Trump is in Trump Tower for the night and he is not expected to leave until tomorrow for his scheduled hearing at 2:15 p.m. ET, two senior law enforcement officials said.