Connect with us

News

Trump Arrested, Arraigned on 34 Felony Charges in Manhattan Criminal Court

Published

3 years ago

on

Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Tuesday to 34 counts of falsifying business records, in the first-ever criminal arraignment of a former U.S. president.

Trump surrendered at a New York courthouse and then was arraigned on charges related to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s hush money payment probe. Trump exited the courthouse shortly before 3:30 p.m. ET and flew home to his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.

Trump is not due back in court until December, according to NBC News.

He was indicted Thursday, and the charges were unsealed during the arraignment Tuesday. The 34 felony counts relate to his alleged role in a scheme that directed hush money payments to two women during the 2016 election.

Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen is known to have facilitated payments to two women in order to keep them silent about alleged affairs with Trump: former adult film star Stormy Daniels and ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal.

Former President Donald Trump sits at the defense table with his defense team in a Manhattan court, Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in New York. Trump is set to appear in a New York City courtroom on charges related to falsifying business records in a hush money investigation, the first president ever to be charged with a crime. Seth Wenig | AP

Trump appeared before acting New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan on Tuesday. Photos from the courtroom showed a deflated Trump sitting among his legal team.

The ex-president, meanwhile, plans to travel back to his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida after the hearing and deliver remarks there.

Trump denies the claim by Daniels, whose given name is Stephanie Clifford, that she had sex with him one time in 2006. He also denies wrongdoing related to the $130,000 payment Cohen gave her to keep quiet about the alleged tryst.

Former US President Donald Trump arrives at criminal court in New York, US, on Tuesday, April 4, 2023. Alex Kemp | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Former U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on the day of his court appearance in New York after being indicted by a Manhattan grand jury following a probe into hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels, in Palm Beach, Florida, April 4, 2023. Marco Bello | Reuters

Trump said he did not commit crimes in New York — and denied wrongdoing in three other criminal investigations hanging over his bid to reclaim the White House next year.

“The only crime I have committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it,” the former president told supporters at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida hours after pleading not guilty to 34 felony counts at a Manhattan courthouse.

Early in his remarks, Trump painted himself as a victim of long-running schemes to discredit him for political gain. Trump jumped between grievances in a campaign-style speech, attacking Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and other major officials leading criminal or civil probes of his conduct: Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

The ex-president drilled into familiar foes in his 2016 presidential opponent Hillary Clinton and President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter. He also repeated the conspiracy theory that widespread fraud led to his 2020 election loss against Biden, and made unfounded claims that the U.S. economy is on the brink of collapse.

In assessing the Manhattan charges, Trump noted that Bragg may have trouble proving his case — a view expressed by some legal experts outside of Trump’s orbit.

Texas Guardian News
Latest posts by Texas Guardian News (see all)
Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

News

Bizarre Epstein files reference to Trump, Putin, and oral sex with ‘Bubba’ draws scrutiny in Congress

Published

2 weeks ago

on

November 14, 2025

By

The latest tranche of emails from the estate of late convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein includes one that contains what appear to be references to President Donald Trump allegedly performing oral sex, raising questions the committee cannot answer until the Department of Justice turns over records it has withheld, says U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee.

Garcia insists the Trump White House is helping block them.

In a Friday afternoon interview with The Advocate, the out California lawmaker responded to a 2018 exchange, which was included in the emails released, between Jeffrey Epstein and his brother, Mark Epstein. In that message, Mark wrote that because Jeffrey Epstein had said he was with former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, he should “ask him if Putin has the photos of Trump blowing Bubba.”

“Bubba” is a nickname former President Bill Clinton has been known by; however, the email does not clarify who Mark Epstein meant, and the context remains unclear.

Texas Guardian News
Latest posts by Texas Guardian News (see all)
Continue Reading

News

USDA head says ‘everyone’ on SNAP will now have to reapply

Published

2 weeks ago

on

November 14, 2025

By

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Thursday said the Trump administration is planning to have all Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) beneficiaries reapply for the program due to alleged fraud.

The secretary said after receiving data on SNAP recipients from 29 red states that “186,000 deceased men and women and children in this country are receiving a check.”

“Can you imagine when we get our hands on the blue state data what we’re going to find?” she asked during a Thursday appearance on Newsmax’s “Rob Schmitt Tonight.”

“It’s going to give us a platform and a trajectory to fundamentally rebuild this program, have everyone reapply for their benefit, make sure that everyone that’s taking a taxpayer-funded benefit through SNAP or food stamps, that they literally are vulnerable, and they can’t survive without it,” she added.

Every state has a periodic recertification process that requires SNAP or food stamp recipients to update their whereabouts and earnings, according to the Department of Agriculture (USDA). Most municipalities require updated data every six to 12 months.

“Secretary Rollins wants to ensure the fraud, waste, and incessant abuse of SNAP ends,” a USDA spokesperson said in a statement to The Hill. “Rates of fraud were only previously assumed, and President Trump is doing something about it. Using standard recertification processes for households is a part of that work. As well as ongoing analysis of State data, further regulatory work, and improved collaboration with States. “

Earlier this month, food stamps were threatened amid the government shutdown as the Trump administration argued against using contingency funds to fuel the welfare program.

Texas Guardian News
Latest posts by Texas Guardian News (see all)
Continue Reading

News

Trump orders Bondi to investigate Epstein’s ties to Clinton and other political foes

Published

2 weeks ago

on

November 14, 2025

By

NEW YORK (AP) — Acceding to President Donald Trump’s demands, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Friday that she has ordered a top federal prosecutor to investigate sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to Trump political foes, including former President Bill Clinton.

Bondi posted on X that she was assigning Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton to lead the probe, capping an eventful week in which congressional Republicans released nearly 23,000 pages of documents from Epstein’s estate and House Democrats seized on emails mentioning Trump.

Trump, who was friends with Epstein for years, didn’t explain what supposed crimes he wanted the Justice Department to investigate. None of the men he mentioned in a social media post demanding the probe has been accused of sexual misconduct by any of Epstein’s victims.

Hours before Bondi’s announcement, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that he would ask her, the Justice Department and the FBI to investigate Epstein’s “involvement and relationship” with Clinton and others, including former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and LinkedIn founder and Democratic donor Reid Hoffman.

Trump, calling the matter “the Epstein Hoax, involving Democrats, not Republicans,” said the investigation should also include financial giant JPMorgan Chase, which provided banking services to Epstein, and “many other people and institutions.”

“This is another Russia, Russia, Russia Scam, with all arrows pointing to the Democrats,” the Republican president wrote, referring to special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of alleged Russian interference in Trump’s 2016 election victory over Bill Clinton’s wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Asked later Friday whether he should be ordering up such investigations, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One: “I’m the chief law enforcement officer of the country. I’m allowed to do it.”

In a July memo regarding the Epstein investigation, the FBI said, “We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.”

The president’s demand for an investigation — and Bondi’s quick acquiescence — is the latest example of the erosion of the Justice Department’s traditional independence from the White House since Trump took office.

It is also an extraordinary attempt at deflection. For decades, Trump himself has been scrutinized for his closeness to Epstein — though like the people he now wants investigated, he has not been accused of sexual misconduct by Epstein’s victims.

None of Trump’s proposed targets were accused of sex crimes

Texas Guardian News
Latest posts by Texas Guardian News (see all)
Continue Reading

Trending