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Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg’s office is on the verge of an unprecedented move: indicting a former president of the United States.
Donald Trump himself appears to be anticipating an indictment related to hush money paid to Stormy Daniels. Over the weekend, he wrote on Truth Social that he will be arrested Tuesday and urged his supporters to protest and “take our nation back.” The NYPD has started to place barricades outside the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse, and law enforcement is reportedly planning how to handle a potential indictment.
First, if the grand jury returns an indictment, Trump would be criminally charged, and he would be subject to potential arrest. (Prosecutors are reportedly eyeing a felony offense related to the hush money.) The indictment would be filed with the court under seal, according to The Wall Street Journal.
However, Trump would probably not be arrested in the traditional way one thinks of. Insider reports that his legal team and the prosecution would likely work out a date for Trump to surrender himself at the district attorney’s headquarters. A prosecutor who previously worked under Cyrus Vance Jr., Bragg’s predecessor, told Insider anonymously that Trump could be arraigned without spending time in custody and, instead, get issued a summons to appear for arraignment.
Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina has said his client will surrender if charges are filed. “There won’t be a standoff at Mar-a-Lago with Secret Service and the Manhattan DA’s office,” he told the New York Daily News.
Like any defendant, Trump would have a right to appear before a judge at arraignment and enter a plea in his case. The court date would be set after the indictment was returned.
Despite the uncommon nature of a former leader of the country being criminally charged, some aspects of the process would likely be similar, such as Trump being fingerprinted and photographed for a mugshot, according to the New York Times. But would the ex-president be seen in handcuffs?
“The handcuffing part — I think the police and Secret Service are negotiating whether or not that would happen or the specific details,” said former chief assistant district attorney Karen Agnifilo to Fox 5. “But, yes, he will be processed. He’ll be read his Miranda warning; he’ll be photographed, fingerprinted. Whether or not there’s a quote-unquote perp walk, I assume Mr. Trump will use the arrest of him as an opportunity to have more media done, so I think it may be his own perp walk, is my guess.”
Citing an expert, Time reports that the former president probably wouldn’t be considered a flight risk and would likely be released on bond.
Along with his attorney, Trump would be accompanied by Secret Service agents, who are assigned to former presidents after they leave office. Bloomberg, citing a person familiar with the matter, reports that Trump would likely stay in the custody of his Secret Service detail if arrested rather than placed in a holding cell like an average citizen.
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