Former United States President, Donald Trump , pleaded not guilty to 34 felony criminal charges of falsifying business records in Manhattan criminal court on Tuesday, April 4, 2023.
The indictment against Trump alleges that the former President sought to undermine the integrity of the 2016 election.
Prosecutors alleged Trump was part of an unlawful plan to suppress negative information, including an illegal payment of $130,000 that was ordered by the defendant to suppress the negative information that would hurt his campaign.
The reason Trump committed the crime of falsifying business records was in part to “promote his candidacy,” the indictment alleges.
The former President’s voice was measured in the courtroom as he walked in slowly scanning the reporters in the courtroom and looking at the judge when he was speaking.
Trump had arrived at the Manhattan district attorney’s office earlier Tuesday afternoon, where he was placed under arrest and in police custody before the arraignment.
The arraignment in the Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday represented a surreal and historic moment in US history.