According to media reports, the indictment hearing against ex-US President Donald Trump is scheduled to take place in New York on Tuesday. According to Fox News and NY1, the appointment is scheduled for 2:15 p.m. (8:15 p.m. CEST) in the Manhattan courthouse. The district attorney’s office in Manhattan had announced an indictment against the Republican Thursday evening. The New York case involves hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels.
The exact charges and details are still unknown. At the latest when the indictment is read out, the public will also officially learn the details of the allegations. Trump must travel to New York for the process and would then be briefly detained for fingerprints and police photos to be taken. The accused are then often handcuffed – it is unclear whether this will happen in Trump’s case. It is considered certain that Trump can return home after this procedure.
Judge Juan Merchan, whom Trump accused of hating him on Friday, is responsible. Merchan was “handpicked” by prosecutor Alvin Bragg and his colleagues. Merchan led a tax fraud case against the Trump Organization and its longtime chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg.
Trump accused Merchan of having acted dishonestly at the time. Weisselberg had pleaded guilty before the actual trial and was eventually sentenced to five months in prison for tax crimes.
Meanwhile, the eldest Trump daughter spoke up on Instagram. “I love my father and I love my country,” Ivanka Trump wrote on Friday, without directly mentioning the charges. “Today it hurts me for both.” She appreciated voices from across the political spectrum expressing their support and concerns. Ivanka Trump worked as a close advisor to her father during Trump’s time in the White House.