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The news of former President Donald Trump’s historic indictment has elicited strong reactions and raised plenty of questions. Key among them: What happens now?
A New York grand jury has voted to indict Trump for his alleged role in covering up hush money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential election campaign. However, the indictment remains under seal, meaning the charges and evidence against him are not yet known.
WNYC reporter Ilya Marritz, who covers Trump’s legal affairs tells Morning Edition that a grand jury process is „secret by design.“
„Until we read that indictment, we don’t know the specific charges Trump will have to defend himself against,“ he adds. „And that’s a good reason to treat headlines and hot takes with a little bit of skepticism.“
Still, we do know that the 23-person grand jury heard evidence in the case, including testimony from Daniels and Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen. At least 12 members (a majority) decided there was enough reasonable cause to believe that Trump committed a crime.
District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office confirmed that decision on Thursday, saying it had contacted Trump’s attorney „to coordinate his surrender“ to authorities.
A spokesperson for the New York Office of Court Administration has since confirmed to NPR that Trump is expected to appear in court on Tuesday at 2:15 p.m. ET.Trump would have to be arraigned in person
An indictment is typically unsealed on the day of a defendant’s arraignment, according to Marritz.
That’s when Trump would come in for photographs, fingerprints and paperwork, as well as to enter a plea, a process that typically takes several hours.
Bragg has said repeatedly that the justice system should treat a former president the same way as any other defendant, so Marritz thinks it’s likely Trump will have to go through the typical steps of an arraignment.
