(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump is expected to surrender to law enforcement in New York City early this week, sources familiar have told ABC News, after being indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on Thursday.
Sources familiar have told ABC News that the former president has been charged with around two dozen counts, including felonies. For previous coverage, please click here.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Apr 03, 6:32 AM EDT
Poll shows plurality of the public supports Trump indictment
A plurality of Americans think former President Donald Trump should have been charged by a Manhattan grand jury with a history-making indictment.
According to the poll, 45% think Trump should have been charged with a crime in this case, whereas 32% don’t think so and 23% say they don’t know.
Democrats are, unsurprisingly, rallying behind the grand jury’s decision.
Almost nine in 10 Democrats (88%) think Trump should have been charged in the investigation by the Manhattan D.A., which has been probing a $130,000 hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels who alleges the two had an affair. Trump has long denied these claims.
-ABC News’ Brittany Shepherd
Apr 03, 6:01 AM EDT
‘I just don’t know what to expect to see,’ Trump’s lawyer says
Donald Trump’s lawyer doesn’t know what to expect when the former president is arraigned on Tuesday in New York City given the historic nature of Trump’s indictment, he said on Sunday.
“This is unprecedented. I don’t know. I’ve done a million arraignments in that courthouse with celebrities and whatnot. But this is a whole different thing. We have Secret Service involved. I understand they’re closing the courthouse for the afternoon. I just don’t know what to expect to see,” Joe Tacopina told ABC This Week anchor George Stephanopoulos.
“What I hope is that we get in and out of there as quickly as possible, that it’s, at the end of the day, a typical arraignment where we stand before the judge, we say ‘not guilty,’ we set schedules to file motions and whatnot or discovery, and we move forward and get out of there,” Tacopina said.
-ABC News’ Tal Axelrod
Apr 03, 5:26 AM EDT
Trump expected to travel to New York on Monday
Former President Donald Trump is expected to travel to New York on Monday, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
He is expected to appear in court on Tuesday at the earliest, the sources said, on what is expected to be around two dozen counts – including felonies.
The exact charges are unknown since the indictment will not be unsealed until Trump appears in court.
-ABC News’ Aaron Katersky, Katherine Faulders, John Santucci
Apr 02, 11:09 AM EDT
Trump to speak at Mar-a-Lago Tuesday night
Following his expected arraignment on Tuesday in New York City, former President Donald Trump announced he would speak that evening from Mar-a-Lago.
The former president is slated to give remarks at 8:15 p.m., according to a press release.
-ABC News’ Olivia Rubin
Apr 02, 10:33 AM EDT
America split on Trump indictment: Poll
While 45% of Americans believe former President Donald Trump should face charges in an investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, 32% say he shouldn’t have been indicted, according to a new ABC News/Ipsos poll.
Another 23% of American say they don’t know whether the nation’s 45th president should face charges.
While the charges have not been announced, a Manhattan grand jury that indicted Trump had been hearing evidence in a $130,000 hush money payment Trump allegedly made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, who claims they had an affair. Trump has denied the allegations.
The poll showed a split in opinions along party lines. While 88% of Democrats said Trump should face charges, 62%, of Republicans said the former president should not have been charged while 16% said he should be charged, and the remainder was uncertain.
About 47% of Americans polled say the charges are politically motivated, echoing the sentiment from top GOP figures. About 79% of Republicans hold that view.
-ABC News’ Brittany Shepherd
Mar 31, 6:08 PM EDT
Why Trump indictment might hinge on a ‘novel legal theory’
As legal experts speculate on what charges lay inside the sealed indictment ahead of former President Donald Trump’s expected surrender on Tuesday afternoon, many predict that prosecutors could try out a new legal theory to justify bringing the charges.
“This could be a novel legal theory,” said Kate Shaw, a law professor at Cardozo and ABC News contributor, speculating on what charges the public could see against Trump while stressing it’s unknown until the indictment is unsealed.
-ABC News’ Libby Cathey
Mar 31, 5:31 PM EDT
Trump faces around 2 dozen counts, including felonies, sources say
Former President Donald Trump has been charged with around two dozen counts, including felonies, sources familiar with the sealed indictment told ABC News.
The exact charges remain unknown since the indictment will not be unsealed until Trump appears in court on Tuesday.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office declined to comment.
Mar 31, 4:51 PM EDT
Senate sergeant at arms warns of potential demonstration activity
The Senate sergeant at arms is warning of potential demonstration activity related to the indictment of former President Donald Trump.
“While law enforcement is not tracking any specific, credible threats against the Capitol or state offices, there is potential for demonstration activity,” an email obtained by ABC News said.
Capitol Police “is working with law enforcement partners, so you may observe a greater law enforcement presence on Capitol Hill,” the email said, adding that there could be “nationwide impacts to Senate state offices.”
The Capitol Police declined to comment and the sergeant at arms didn’t immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
-ABC News’ Luke Barr
Mar 31, 12:56 PM EDT
Ivanka Trump speaks out
Former President Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, reacted to the indictment on Instagram Friday, writing, “I love my father, and I love my country. Today, I am pained for both.”
She added, “I appreciate the voices across the political spectrum expressing support and concern.”
Mar 31, 12:30 PM EDT
How DA could use hush money payment to Playboy model Karen McDougal to bolster Trump case
Sources familiar with the matter told ABC News the Manhattan district attorney’s office is also investigating a $150,000 payment to Playboy model Karen McDougal, who, like Stormy Daniels, claimed to have had an affair with Donald Trump.
The former president has denied having an affair with either woman and has called the investigation a witch hunt.
McDougal was paid for the rights to her story in August 2016 by American Media, publisher of the National Enquirer, which did not publish it, a practice known as catch and kill.
Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, has said he recorded Trump discussing reimbursement to American Media for the payment to McDougal, but the payment was never made.
Trump has not responded to ABC News’ request for comment but in a 2018 interview with Fox News, he claimed he wasn’t aware of any payment made to AMI to facilitate the alleged hush agreement.
Mar 31, 12:27 PM EDT
Judge signs order allowing DA to publicly acknowledge indictment
Judge Juan Merchan has signed this order allowing the Manhattan district attorney’s office to publicly acknowledge the indictment.
The People v Donald J Trump. This is the order allowing the DA to publicly acknowledge the indictment pic.twitter.com/leg9vDascr
— Aaron Katersky (@AaronKatersky) March 31, 2023
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