Donald Trump’s lawyer assured that he will not be handcuffed when he turns himself into the police

Donald Trump Criminal Charges

Former US President Donald Trump will not be handcuffed when he turns himself in next week in New York to face criminal charges, under the terms of a deal between his defense attorneys and Manhattan prosecutors, defense attorney Joe Tacopina said Friday.

Tacopina said in an interview that he expected the arrest to proceed in another routine manner on Tuesday when Trump is due to appear to face indictment following the grand jury decision into the investigation into the payment of money to porn star Stormy Daniels during the Trump campaign. in 2016.

Although Trump is not expected to be handcuffed, he will likely be fingerprinted and undergo other routine protocols.

Susan Necheles, another Trump attorney, said the former president will plead not guilty.

Trump, 76, became the first US president or former president to be accused of a crime and his aspirations to be chosen as the Republican presidential candidate for the 2024 elections could be complicated.

Last week, Trump warned of a potential  “death and destruction” situation if he were indicted.

Trump, who has denied wrongdoing and attacked the investigation, is scheduled to turn himself in to authorities next week,  according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss a matter that remains under seal.

The grand jury,  a body that studies cases and decides whether or not there is a basis for holding a trial, has been followed with great media attention since Trump himself assured ten days ago that its 23 members were going to confirm his accusation and immediately afterward he would be arrested, which finally did not occur.

Until yesterday, it was believed that the grand jury would postpone its decision until the end of April.

Stormy Daniels, an actress and adult film director whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has said she received the money in exchange for keeping quiet about a sexual encounter she had with Trump in 2006, who was already married to his current wife, Melania.

The former president’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, said Trump sent secret payments to Daniels and a second woman, former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who also said she had a sexual relationship with him. Trump has denied having affairs with the two women.

Federal prosecutors examined Daniels’ 2018 payment, which led to a prison sentence for Cohen, but did not bring charges against Trump.

Along these lines, the  Wall Street Journal maintains that the grand jury has examined in its latest meetings – which are not public, so their content is only known through leaks – the second case of the Playboy model.

Karen McDougal, who was a 1998 “Playboy girl,” says she had a sexual relationship with Trump for ten months in 2006, and struck a deal to publish her story with The National Enquirer in exchange for $150,000,  but the newspaper -whose owner is a friend of Trump- bought his testimony to hide it.

The detail is important because it would mean that the accusation of Stormy Daniels is no longer isolated and that there is a pattern of conduct on the part of Trump,  which makes his guilt more likely.