Donald Trump's historic appearance: the former US president pleads not guilty

Donald Trump is the first former president in U.S. history to be indicted on criminal charges. After pleading not guilty, he walked out of court free and clear of judicial review.

 

A historic first. Former U.S. President Donald Trump appeared in a New York courtroom this Tuesday, April 4. He is the first ex-president in the history of the United States to be charged with criminal offenses. The 76-year-old real estate tycoon pleaded not guilty to falsifying accounting documents. He was released without judicial review, but could face a trial in January 2024, although he will try to avoid that trial before the presidential election, for which he is a candidate.

 

The Republican is facing 34 counts involving payments to cover up three embarrassing affairs before the 2016 election, according to the indictment unveiled Tuesday. His lawyer Todd Blanche denounced a "sad" "ready-made" indictment and vowed to fight it. In the crowded courtroom of the court, Donald Trump showed himself with a closed face, looking stern. He spent about two hours in the Manhattan courthouse.

 

In front of the courthouse, handfuls of activists for and against Trump, some of them colorful, were separated as soon as the first invectives began - authorities being anxious that this tense situation, already at the heart of exceptional media coverage, did not degenerate. After leaving the court, the former president was to return directly to Florida where a press conference is scheduled.