NEWYORK –
Every day, hundreds of people are taken into custody in New York City. Former President Donald Trump is expected to become one of them next week.
Trump has been indicted on charges related to payments made during his 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter, lawyers say. His confirmation on Thursday. This is the first criminal case against a former US president.
Trump – a Republican who attacked Thursday’s incident as a “political crackdown” by a Democratic prosecutor on “a completely innocent person” – is expected to turn himself in to the authorities next week, according to a person familiar with the matter but not authorized. discuss it openly. The person said the details of the surrender were still being discussed.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office Alvin Bragg said it has reached out to Trump’s attorneys to coordinate his surrender and charges.
For any defendant in New York, poor or powerful, answering criminal charges means getting fingerprints and photographs taken, answering basic questions like name and date of birth, and accused. All told, defendants are usually detained for at least several hours.
There may be differences in terms of where the different steps take place, how long they last, whether the handcuffs are removed, and other specifics. Much depends on the severity of the case and whether the defendants have arranged to turn themselves in.
But there is no handbook for placing a former president with the protection of the United States Secret Service. Agents are tasked with protecting former presidents unless and until they say they don’t need to. Trump has kept his details to himself, so agents will need to be with him at all times.
“This will be a unique exception,” said Jeremy Saland, defense attorney and former prosecutor in Manhattan.
If Trump is indicted, expect a carefully orchestrated and relatively quick process and release without bail (as is common in New York) — and with a focus on security. Saland predicts that a former president will not be handcuffed when marching on sidewalks or through crowded court corridors.
“It’s a public forum, but safety is also paramount,” he noted.
If defendants are notified of an indictment or an impending arrest, they usually arrange to file themselves. Doing so can smooth the process and strengthen the argument for bail by showing that they are not evading the case.
For example, when Trump’s former chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, was indicted in Manhattan on tax fraud charges in 2021, he was able to file himself at the court’s side door before normal business hours. often.
The aim was “to reduce the likelihood of the surrender becoming a media frenzy,” his lawyers wrote in a court filing.
Weisselberg arrived at about 6:15 a.m. and was taken to what his lawyers described as a “detention room” for reservations, interviews for possible release and other formalities. To pass the time, he brought a book – “Chicken Soup for the Souls of Baseball Fans” – and his lawyers provided him with a snack, face mask, candy mints and other paraphernalia, according to the filing.
Weisselberg was charged and released about eight hours later, after being ushered into the courtroom via a series of news cameras in the hallway. (Weisselberg eventually pleaded guilty to tax evasion on work perks including a free apartment and tuition for his grandchildren.)
On the other hand, disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein turned himself in at a Manhattan police station in 2018 to face rape and sex crimes charges. He was briefly in his cell, flipping through a biography of acclaimed film director Elia Kazan, before being led away in handcuffs and taken to court under the eyes of journalists on the sidewalk — and the police. other suspects in the courtroom’s reservation area, where some shouted, “Yo, Harvey!”
Within about three hours of surrendering, Weinstein was charged and released under electronic surveillance and on $1 million bail. (Weinstein was eventually convicted; his appeal is now being brought before New York’s highest court. He was also convicted of the same crime in Los Angeles.)
But even a scheduled arrest is still an arrest. Defendants must give up cell phones and certain other personal items for safekeeping (and in some cases potential evidence) and attorneys are generally not allowed to accompany their clients during the trial. submit. Lawyers often advise traveling lightly and staying with your mother.
Gianni Karmily, a defense attorney, said: “Don’t make any claims. Because you think you’re helping your situation, they can use your statements against them. you — because you get caught up in that moment, you feel nervous.” practitioners in New York City and on Long Island.
Many arrests in New York City are not planned in advance. It can be a very different experience for defendants, even prominent ones.
When a hotel butler accused then-International Monetary Fund director and potential French presidential candidate Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexually assaulting her in 2011, he was dragged off a plane at the airport. Kennedy Airport.
Strauss-Kahn, who said his meeting with the woman was consensual, spent about 36 hours being questioned, arrested, subjected to various checks and waited in places like court before being charged and jailed without bail. After spending several days in the city’s notorious Rikers Island prison, Strauss-Kahn was released on $1 million bail, under house arrest by armed guards.
Manhattan prosecutors eventually dropped the criminal case against Strauss-Kahn, who subsequently settled a civil lawsuit brought by his accuser.
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Associated Press writers Michael R. Sisak in New York and Colleen Long in Washington contributed to this report.
