New York braces for Trump indictment on Tuesday

Former president's lawyer hopes arraignment will be 'painless and classy'

Donald Trump speaks during his first campaign rally after announcing his candidacy for president in the 2024 election at an event in Waco, Texas last week. Reuters

Former US president Donald Trump’s lawyer hopes Tuesday’s scheduled court appearance in New York will be “painless and classy,” after his client was indicted last week.

Mr Trump, 76, is expected to appear before Justice Juan Merchan of the Criminal Court in Manhattan on Tuesday afternoon, as he becomes the first former or sitting US president to face criminal charges.

Once inside, he will be arraigned, fingerprinted, and photographed. He will be read his Miranda rights by law enforcement officials.

Lawyer Joe Tacopina, who has yet to see the charges, told CNN on Sunday that he hopes: "This will be as painless and classy as possible for a situation like this."

Mr Tacopina said it was likely that the former president’s defence lawyers will move to dismiss the charges after they see them.

The indictment will remain under seal until the arraignment, which is standard procedure in New York.

“I've done a million arraignments in that courthouse with celebrities and whatnot. But this is a whole different thing," said Mr Tacopina, who also appeared on ABC on Sunday.

The Secret Service will provide protection to Mr Trump throughout the court proceedings.

"I understand they're closing the courthouse for the afternoon. I just don't know what to expect to see,” Mr Tacopina said.

Barricades have already been erected around the courthouse and a heavy police presence is on standby.

New York City officials plan to close key streets in lower Manhattan as a security measure when Mr Trump is in court, Bloomberg reported.

Several streets surrounding the Manhattan courthouse and other adjacent streets may also experience intermittent closures. Vehicles could be prohibited from parking in the immediate area.

Asked if Mr Trump was planning to hold a press conference after his court appearance, Mr Tacopina said: “I don't know what the president's plans are.

"We've been speaking but he knows Trump better than anybody. And he's not afraid to speak.”

Mr Tacopina said the former president had not committed any crime and is “gearing up for a battle".

"He's someone who's going to be ready for this fight … and I look forward to moving this thing along as quickly as possible to exonerate him," he said.

“We believe it is a political persecution and I think people on both sides of the aisle believe that. It's a complete abuse of power."

Mr Trump, who recently launched his third presidential campaign, for 2024, plans to fly to New York on Monday from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and spend the night at Trump Tower before appearing in court on Tuesday.

His office on Sunday said he planned to return to Florida after the court appearance and is expected to speak at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach Tuesday evening.

On Thursday, a Manhattan grand jury indicted the former president after an investigation into an alleged hush money payment of $130,000 by his former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

The payment was alleged to have been made to keep her quiet before the 2016 presidential election over an affair she claimed she had with Mr Trump in 2006. He has denied it.

Mr Cohen said he co-ordinated with Mr Trump on the payments to Ms Daniels.

The former president, who has maintained his innocence in the case, acknowledged reimbursing Mr Cohen.

Prosecutors say the payment broke campaign finance laws.

Agencies contributed to this report.