Donald Trump left Florida on Monday to fight a “battle” in New York where a criminal court must serve him on Tuesday with his indictment in a case of fraud linked to the payment of money to a porn star, a historic legal challenge against a former president of the United States.
It is an event all the more extraordinary as the 76-year-old Republican billionaire, who left the White House amid sound and fury in January 2021, embarked on the race for the Republican nomination to win back the presidency in November 2024.
“On the way to New York. Let’s make America great again”, wrote, as often, in capital letters on his social network Truth Social on 45e President of the United States, before his private Boeing 757, bearing his name, took off from Palm Beach, Florida at around 1:00 p.m.
Leaving his mansion in Mar-a-Lago, he still felt that he was the victim of a “WITCH HUNT when [son] great country sinking into HELL”.
“Our Next President”
On the road to the airport, a few anonymous supporters waving flags defended him as a “strong [qui] will be [leur] next president.
For the moment, the former tenant of the White House (2017-2021) – who dreams of returning there in January 2025 – is preparing for the legal “battle” in New York, according to one of his lawyers.
In an unprecedented move, the populist former head of state, who upended the political system, society and the balance of power in the United States, was charged with criminal charges on March 30 by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
After five years of investigation by the New York State Department.
Donald Trump swears he is “innocent” and his lawyer Joseph Tacopina estimated Sunday that Tuesday would be “the day the rule of law dies in the United States”.
The real estate magnate, born in New York, where he prospered thanks to his fortune and his empire, must be served on Tuesday from 2:15 p.m. with criminal proceedings. The latter have not been made public, but they are said to be 30 in number and revolve around the accounting concealment of the reimbursement of a payment of $130,000 at the end of 2016 to porn actress Stormy Daniels.
This summons, with an unprecedented ritual for a former head of state, should see Mr. Trump decline his name, age, profession, submit to a fingerprinting and be photographed, like all warned.
According to M.e Tacopina, he will not be handcuffed, but may have to cross the halls of the Manhattan courthouse, in the presence of the media, in an inevitably indescribable mess.
His security will be provided by the Secret Service, the elite police that protects senior American dignitaries.
” Not guilty “
Before the judge, “the president will plead not guilty”, because “there is no criminal offence”, according to his defense. Donald Trump should then be released, possibly under conditions, pending the organization of his trial.
Surprised and destabilized to be prosecuted in his hometown, acquired by the Democrats, the businessman complained on Truth Social on Friday that he could not benefit from a “fair trial in New York”.
In the courthouse area in lower Manhattan, under very high security and while the police have declared themselves “on alert” since Friday, supporters, including the elected Republican far-right Marjorie Taylor Greene, planned to demonstrate.
But New York Mayor Eric Adams, a former police officer, warned potential “troublemakers” on Monday, urging them to “control themselves”.
Donald Trump, who along with his supporters has been accusing Joe Biden for two and a half years of “cheating” and “stealing” the November 2020 presidential victory, is scheduled to speak Tuesday at 8:15 p.m. back home in Florida.
The surroundings of the Trump Tower, on the mythical 5th avenue of Manhattan, where Donald Trump will stay, are also under high security, even if a choir of children from a school in Wisconsin gave a small concert in the basement of the skyscraper -sky.
One file among others
The case that comes back to torment Donald Trump dates back to October 2016, just before his surprise election at the head of the first world power.
His personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, who turned against him, had at the time paid $130,000 to porn actress Stormy Daniels, whose real name was Stephanie Clifford, to buy her silence. The star of X assures that she had a sexual relationship with Donald Trump. What the interested party denies.
The magnate admitted that he had reimbursed Michael Cohen, but assures that the transaction was not illegal.
If the agreement made with Stormy Daniels was indeed authorized, it could however correspond to a campaign expense. However, the sum does not appear in the candidate’s accounts and has, on the contrary, been entered as “legal fees” in his company’s documents.
The ‘Stormy Daniels’ investigation is just one of many threatening Donald Trump.
Federal justice has opened investigations into his role in the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and into his management of the presidential archives after his departure from the White House. A Georgia state prosecutor is also interested in pressure on election officials to contest her defeat in the 2020 presidential election.