Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
Updated 9:30 AM EDT, Wed April 5, 2023
Former President Donald Trump was arraigned in a New York courtroom on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to 34 felony criminal charges of falsifying business records.
It’s the first time in American history that a current or former president is facing criminal charges.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office has been investigating Trump in connection with his alleged role in a hush money payment scheme and cover-up involving adult film star Stormy Daniels that dates to the 2016 presidential election.
Trump has repeatedly denied wrongdoing in the matter and accused Democrats of targeting him politically. His lawyers have said they’ll fight to get the charges dropped.
In November, Trump announced that he would be running for president again. He has frequently called the various investigations surrounding him a “witch hunt,” attempting to sway public opinion on them by casting himself as a victim of what he’s claimed are political probes led by Democratic prosecutors.
Trump, who served as the nation’s 45th president from 2017-2021, has been in the spotlight for years. From developing real estate and producing and starring in TV shows, he became a celebrity long before winning the White House.
He had no political experience when he ran for president. But with a campaign that repeatedly shattered convention, he went on the win the Republican nomination and pull off a stunning upset over Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Trump only served one term, however, losing to Joe Biden in the 2020 election. He also became the first president in US history to be impeached twice. He was acquitted both times.
Source: www.cnn.com