Key takeaways:
- Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to criminal charges stemming from an investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
- Prosecutors allege that Trump engaged in an “illegal conspiracy” to aid his campaign and “undermine the election.”
- Trump’s lawyers have argued that the charges are politically motivated and that the former president is being targeted.
Former President Donald Trump appeared in a New York courtroom on Tuesday to plead not guilty to criminal charges stemming from an investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Trump had previously called Bragg a “criminal” and a “radical left George Soros-backed prosecutor” who was simply out “to get” him.
Prosecutor Chris Conroy told the court that Trump engaged in an “illegal conspiracy” to aid his campaign and “undermine the election.” Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges, which center on his alleged scheme to hide hush money payments ahead of the 2016 election.
At a ballroom event at his Mar-a-Lago country club in Palm Beach, Florida, hours after his court appearance, Trump maintained his innocence and said the charges should never have been brought. He was flanked by his lawyers inside the courtroom as prosecutors outlined their case.
Trump’s lawyers have argued that the charges are politically motivated and that the former president is being targeted by a “Trump-hating judge, with a Trump-hating wife and a Trump-hating prosecutor.” The statement of facts compiled by prosecutors in conjunction with the indictment said Trump “repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal criminal conduct that hid damaging information from the public.”
The case is ongoing, and Trump is scheduled to appear in court again in July. It is the first time a former president has been forced to appear in a courtroom to respond to criminal charges.
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