Roving Periscope: After the sentence, Trump may face finger-printing, mug shots
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Donald Trump, 76, who became the first former US President to be indicted in a case, will be fingerprinted and have his mug shots taken like an ordinary criminal defendant when he comes to New York State Supreme Court next to face the charges.
The 45th US President lamented that none of his predecessors was treated like this, the media reported on Saturday.
He will now face embarrassing charges while campaigning for a second presidential term in the 2024 race.
A Manhattan grand jury indicted him on Thursday in a probe of hush money payments to a port star during his 2016 presidential campaign in what is a historic event in US law and politics that could potentially polarize the society and voters.
Now, he might face more music, although he is unlikely to be handcuffed or led before cameras, and will be released on his own recognizance, under the protection of his Secret Service detail, rather than be detained, the reports said.
His lawyer Joe Tacopina said he would surrender to officials and is likely to be arraigned on Tuesday next week. He expected specific charges against Trump to remain under seal until the arraignment.
Tacopina said Trump would surrender to New York authorities, so no extradition measures would be necessary.
Trump said in a statement the indictment amounts to “political persecution” and “election interference at the highest level in history.” He condemned the case as the latest effort by Democrats to “destroy the Make America Great Again movement,” comparing the indictment to his earlier impeachments and the “Russia, Russia, Russia” investigation.
“The Democrats have lied, cheated, and stolen in their obsession with trying to ‘Get Trump,’ but now they’ve done the unthinkable – indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference,” he said. “Never before in our nation’s history has this been done?”
The office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who indicted him, however, said: “This evening we contacted Mr. Trump’s attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan DA’s office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal,” it read.
“Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected.”
Recently, Republican Congressmen like Jim Jordan of Ohio demanded that the DA should provide documents justifying his probe of Trump. The angry ex-President himself predicted “death and destruction” if he were indicted.
“A former president, a current candidate, and my friend President Donald J. Trump is a victim of a corrupt and distorted version of the American justice system and history,” Trump’s attorney Alina Habba said in a statement. “He will be vindicated.”
All three probes against Trump are underway during his third campaign for the White House. His Republican support, estimated at 30 percent of the Republican Party membership, may now wane in his own party as he faces challenges from former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Trump has denied wrongdoing and dismissed all three inquiries as vendettas. He is also said to have gained support from those who believe he is the victim of a “deep state” persecution.
Yet neither criminal charges nor a conviction disqualifies him from running or even serving as president.
Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, has accused Trump and his company of falsifying records to conceal the payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. His lawyer Michael Cohen was said to have paid Daniels USD 130,000 to repress her claims that she’d had a sexual relationship with Trump. This payment was reimbursed by the Trump Organization. The former President has denied the affair and any involvement in the payoff.
Donald Trump, a real estate tycoon in 2006, was 60 when he met adult film actress Stormy Daniels, 27. She recounted her encounter in the book “Full Disclosure”, published in 2018, wherein she expressed her ‘disappointment’ with Trump.
In 2016, Trump, a US presidential candidate, denied having any sex and accused Daniels of “extortion” and a “total con job.” The payment made to her was revealed by The Wall Street Journal in January 2018 and forms the basis for the charges Trump has been indicted for.
