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Donald Trump’s day in court was an unprecedented global spectacle that saw him become the first ever American president to be hit with criminal charges.
The 76-year-old ex-president went before a Manhattan Supreme Court judge Tuesday to plead not guilty to 34 felony charges tied to “hush money” payments made at the height of his 2016 presidential campaign.
The prospect of a trial could be more than a year away and raises the possibility that Trump may face a Manhattan jury at the same time he is seeking to be reelected to the White House.
So what comes next for the 45th president and his legal team? What happens next?
The charges against Trump were the culmination of a yearslong probe by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
In the wake of Trump’s surrender and arraignment, Manhattan prosecutors now have to turn over any evidence they obtained during their investigation to defense lawyers — a standard step known as the discovery process.
Prosecutors said they would be able to start turning over discovery materials within a week of a protective order being put in place that would ban the ex-prez from posting any sensitive discovery materials on social media.
The DA’s office added to the judge it expects to hand over the “vast majority” of documents to Trump’s lawyers within the sate’s legal limit of 65 days for “voluminous discovery materials.”
The evidence will almost certainly include key witness statements from porn star Stormy Daniels and Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen.
It also will include the minutes from the grand jury convened by DA Alvin Bragg earlier this year to examine the allegations. What is the protective order being sought?
Judge Juan Merchan declined to issue a gag order, or restrict the involved parties from publicly discussing the case, citing Trump’s First Amendment rights.
