Former US president Trump will make a public statement from Florida after his expected court appearance in New York on Tuesday, following his historic indictment last week.
Mr Trump will be arraigned in New York City on an indictment from a grand jury that heard evidence on hush money paid to a porn star before the 2016 US presidential election – as his lawyer said he anticipated moving to dismiss the charges.
“The team will look at every potential issue that we will be able to challenge, and we will challenge,” lawyer Joe Tacopina told CNN’s Dana Bash.
Mr Trump, 76, is expected to be arraigned, fingerprinted and photographed at a Manhattan courthouse on Tuesday (US time) as he becomes the first former US president to face criminal charges.
Mr Tacopina said he expected more details surrounding the arraignment to be resolved shortly and noted that the Secret Service, which protects former presidents, also had a role on Tuesday.
“All the Tuesday stuff is still very much up in the air, other than the fact that we will very loudly and proudly say, ‘Not guilty’,'” Mr Tacopina told CNN’s State of the Union program.
He portrayed the charges as politically motivated to harm Mr Trump as he seeks to regain the presidency in 2024.
Mr Tacopina said it was unlikely there would be a “perp walk” – where an individual who has been charged is paraded in front of the news media, because of security concerns.
Before the indictment, the grand jury heard evidence about a $US130,000 ($195,000) payment to adult film actor Stormy Daniels in the waning days of the 2016 presidential campaign.
Ms Daniels has said she was paid to keep silent about a sexual encounter she had with Mr Trump in 2006. Mr Trump has denied any such encounter.
Word of the indictment surfaced late last week. But the specific charges against Mr Trump arising from the investigation led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, are yet to be made public.
“We’re not doing anything at the arraignment because that would be showmanship and nothing more – because we haven’t even seen the indictment,” Mr Tacopina said.
He said Mr Trump’s lawyers would dissect the indictment once it was made public and would look at “every potential issue” to challenge.
A court official said the arraignment was scheduled for 2.15pm on Tuesday (0415 on Wednesday AEST). The official said the judge had asked both sides to submit their positions on whether cameras and video should be allowed in the courtroom.
Elsewhere, Mr Trump’s office said on Saturday the former president planned to deliver remarks at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach later on Tuesday.
A campaign source said the Republican businessman-turned-politician was likely to focus on what he felt was his political persecution and “the political weaponisation of the justice system to manipulate an election”.
Mr Trump, who launched his 2024 candidacy last November, planned to fly to New York on Monday from Mar-a-Lago and spend the night at Trump Tower before his court appearance, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters last week.
He is expected to appear before Justice Juan Merchan in Manhattan. Justice Merchan also presided over a criminal trial last year in which Mr Trump’s real estate company was convicted of tax fraud, though Mr Trump himself was not charged.
On Friday, Mr Trump lashed out at Judge Merchan.
“The Judge ‘assigned’ to my Witch Hunt Case, a ‘Case’ that has never been charged before, hates me,” he wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Mr Trump also claimed Judge Merchan was “hand-picked” by Mr Bragg.
Former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson announced his candidacy on Sunday for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination and called on Mr Trump to drop out of the race.
“I think it’s a sad day for America that we have a former president that’s indicted,” Mr Hutchinson said on ABC’s This Week.
Asked whether Mr Trump should step aside from the race, Mr Hutchinson said, “He should, but at the same time, we know he’s not.”
Far from stepping aside, there are reports that Mr Trump’s indictment will actually aid his 2024 White House bid. His campaign was quick to jump on the news of the indictment as a fundraising opportunity, reportedly raking in more than $US4 million in the 24 hours after it was reported.
-with AAP
