Trump indictment: Former US president not expected to be handcuffed

NEW YORK

As the US awaits former President Donald Trump's arraignment following his indictment, his lawyer said Friday that he does not expect Trump to be handcuffed.

A Manhattan grand jury indicted Trump on Thursday on charges related to a "hush money" payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Trump is expected to be arraigned in Manhattan on Tuesday, according to the US media.

Joe Tacopina, Trump's attorney, said that he does not expect Trump to be put in handcuffs.

"We'll go in there, and we'll proceed to see a judge at some point, plead not guilty, start talking about filing motions, which we will do immediately," Tacopina told ABC News.

Trump's indictment has drawn wide condemnation from the Republicans with some accusing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who presented evidence to the grand jury, of interfering in the 2024 elections.

Republican lawmakers also demanded information regarding the case against the former president, but Bragg slammed the request and asked them to cease "unlawful political interference" in the case.

"Like any other defendant, Mr Trump is entitled to challenge these charges in court and avail himself of all processes and protections that New York State’s robust criminal procedure affords," he said in a letter addressed to the House Republicans.

Trump ally and Republican lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene vowed to protest the indictment.

"I'm going to New York on Tuesday. We MUST protest the unconstitutional WITCH HUNT!" she wrote on Twitter.

The indictment marks the first time in US history that a current or former president has faced criminal charges. Trump has long raged against the impending legal action and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who presented evidence to the grand jury. He has denied any wrongdoing and maintained the case is politically-motivated.

"This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history," Trump said in a statement Thursday. "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."

Trump faces more than 30 counts in the indictment by the Manhattan grand jury, according to media reports citing sources.

Payments were made by then Trump attorney Michael Cohen, who was sentenced in 2018 to three years in prison after pleading guilty to a raft of charges related to his work for Trump, which included hush money to two women who alleged extramarital affairs with Trump, including Daniels. Former Playboy model Karen McDougal was the other woman.

Cohen has since served as a witness against the ex-president and said he takes "solace in validating the adage that no one is above the law; not even a former president."

"Today's indictment is not the end of this chapter; but rather, just the beginning. Now that the charges have been filed, it is better for the case to let the indictment speak for itself. The two things I wish to say at this time is that accountability matters and I stand by my testimony and the evidence I have provided to DANY," he said in a statement.

He was referring to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. Cohen is now expected to serve as the prosecution's star witness.

The indictment remains under seal, so it is not currently possible to tell which charges Trump now faces. It will remain so until Bragg officially announces the indictment.

Trump is the first declared Republican candidate for nomination in the 2024 presidential race and vowed to "first defeat Alvin Bragg, and then we will defeat Joe Biden, and we are going to throw every last one of these Crooked Democrats out of office so we can MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

In addition to the investigation in Manhattan, Trump is facing three other criminal probes, including in Georgia, where prosecutors are examining whether he sought to illegally change the outcome of the state's 2020 presidential election results, and a pair of federal investigations related to Trump's actions concerning the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection and his handling of classified documents after he left office.