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Donald Trump – latest updates: Former president arrives in New York – as crowds warned to ‘control themselves’
Donald Trump has arrived at Trump Tower in New York City after flying from Florida on “Trump Force One” this evening. He will appear in a Manhattan court on Tuesday.
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Watch the run-up to Donald Trump’s court appearance on Sky News
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Key points
Trump arrives in New York View post | Crowds warned to ‘control themselves’ View post
Legal team object to cameras in court View post
What does the case against Trump centre around? View post
There’s a star witness in this case – but the issue is credibility | James Matthews View post
Trump is attempting to undermine the judicial system | Mark Stone View post
A porn star, an ex-Playboy model and lawyers-turned-prisoners – key players in the case View post
Live reporting by Guy Birchall
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1h ago
20:29
Trump widens lead in 2024 Republican presidential primary, poll shows
Donald Trump has widened his lead over his rivals in the 2024 Republican presidential nominating contest, despite facing criminal charges in New York, according to a poll by Reuters/Ipsos released today.
It showed that around 48% of self-described Republicans say they want the former US president to be their party’s presidential nominee, up from 44% in a March 14-20 poll.
And some 19% back his closest rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, down from 30% last month.
Other likely rivals polled in the single digits.
The online poll was conducted between 31 March and 3 April, after news broke that Mr Trump would face criminal charges related to alleged hush money paid to a porn star before the 2016 election.
Mr Trump is the first US president to face criminal indictment. He is expected to plead not guilty at a Manhattan court later today.
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2h ago
19:42
Trump’s arrival in NYC attracts less supporters than might have been expected
By James Matthews, US correspondent
He lives high above 5th Avenue, on the top three floors of Trump Tower.
Upon reaching New York, Donald Trump disappeared to his apartment 66 storeys above street level, and so was far removed from the commotion below.
His arrival from Florida had stirred an international media pack that rammed the pavements, along with rubber-necking tourists and indignant New Yorkers complaining about a route through the outsiders inside their space.
And there were Trump supporters, shouting of injustice, but there were fewer than might have been expected of a widely-trailed “Homecoming Party”.
Mr Trump had put a rallying call on his social media platform – “Protest”, he’d posted. “Take our nation back,” when he revealed he was going to be arrested.
Had he stopped to check numbers upon arrival at his New York home, he might have been disappointed – there were no more than a few dozen.
Mercifully, it was a well-behaved crowd. There was no hint of the disorder that had turned out a thick blue line of NYPD police officers to bolster Secret Service protection.
It was a security operation that buttoned down this corner of uptown Manhattan.
The street was blocked off to create a “sterile” zone for the former president’s arrival and police coaches were parked in a line across the road from Trump Tower as a makeshift security screen.
In prosecuting a president, the logistics of the law aren’t easy.
There will be similar security when Mr Trump heads downtown and downmarket towards the courthouse in New York’s Bowery area. The austere, Soviet-style building is a world, a criminal world, apart from the luxury of his 5th Avenue apartment.
It will give him a taste of what his life could become.
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3h ago
18:55
Marjorie Taylor Greene takes another swipe at New York
The Trump supporting Georgia congresswoman compared the Big Apple to Batman’s hometown as she prepares to lead a protest in the city tomorrow.
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3h ago
18:38
Prosecutor to hold press conference after court appearance
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg will hold a press conference on tomorrow following Trump’s arraignment on criminal charges, his office said today.
Sky News will bring you coverage of that press conference and all the goings on around Trump’s appearance in court throughout the day.
Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg
Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg
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3h ago
18:23
Watch: Trump flies to New York to face charges
Mark Stone was in New York for Sky News today.
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4h ago
17:51
Watch: Could Trump’s 2024 hopes be destroyed?
Martha Kelner was in Palm Beach for Sky News today.
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4h ago
17:32
Marjorie Taylor Greene accuses New York mayor of trying to ‘intimidate’ her
The Republican congresswoman is planning to protest in the city tomorrow when Trump is due to appear in court.
She claimed the Mayor Eric Adams was trying to stop her from exercising her first amendment rights.
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4h ago
17:05
The charges against Trump have only galvanised his supporters
By Martha Kelner, US Correspondent, in Palm Beach
For Donald Trump’s most entrenched supporters this indictment is simply another cause to rally around.
They gather on one side of the bridge which links the former president’s Mar-a-Lago estate with Palm Beach, eagerly awaiting the passing of his motorcade on the way to the airport.
Some wave Trump 2024 flags, others hold signs saying, “Impeach Joe Biden” and one lady has “Trump” written in diamanté stickers on her bottom.
If anything, these charges have galvanised Trump’s base, which believes this is a politically motivated pursuit.
They call the District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, who has secured this indictment, an “evil traitor,” following the lead of Trump himself, who refers to him as a “degenerate psychopath.”
Bob Kunst, from Miami Beach, has brought his deck chair and waves at passing cars beeping in support. He says he is a registered democrat voter but believes Trump is being persecuted.
“It’s like a new revolution is taking place”, he tells me.
“The problem here is the public at large, whether they like Trump or not, realises what the Democrats are doing.
“They’re weaponising the justice system, which could hurt everybody. It’s going to backfire big time.”
Polling suggests views like Mr Kunst’s are mirrored across the Republican voting spectrum, where Trump’s advantage over other potential candidates is widening.
Ryan Williams, a Republican strategist who worked with Mitt Romney for 10 years, says these criminal charges help Trump, politically.
“Charges facing Donald Trump do not dissuade Republican primary voters at all,” he says, “they rally his cause. There’s a very small sliver of the Republican Party that see Trump as problematic or is troubled by these charges.
“But they already weren’t supporting Donald Trump anyways, so it’s really irrelevant. It doesn’t affect his standing with Republicans and actually it helps him.”
Criminal charges galvanise Trump’s base but the Stormy Daniels case is not the end of his problems | US News | Sky News
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5h ago
16:33
What will happen tomorrow?
Michael Wolf, author of Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House gave Sky News his view on what will likely happen tomorrow.
He said: “I’m being told it will be expedited that the finger printing has probably already been done by the Secret Service.
“There will be no handcuffs, the Secret Service has expressly forbidden that, so I think he will be in and out very quickly.”
The former president is set to appear in a courthouse in New York’s Bowery District in lower Manhattan, around four miles from Trump Tower.
Sky News will be covering the proceedings from 7pm tomorrow.
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5h ago
16:15
Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower
The former president briefly waved to a group of waiting supporters and media before disappearing into his famous 5th Avenue residence.
Trump will appear before a court in Manhattan on Tuesday.
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6h ago
15:54
Trump continues fundraising effort
Around 15 minutes ago, Donald Trump was active again on his own social media platform – Truth Social.
He was encouraging people to donate money to the Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee – which has raised £5.6m since last Thursday.
“We have to take back our Country and, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,” he said.
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6h ago
15:50
Coming up on Sky News
Tomorrow, Sky News will bring you live coverage in the stream above as Donald Trump faces criminal charges at a court in Manhattan.
We’ll have all the latest on the Sky News channel from 7pm.
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6h ago
15:46
Trump disembarks at LaGuardia
The former president has got off Trump Force One and is preparing to make his onward journey to Trump Tower.
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6h ago
15:35
Trump team remain buoyant as they arrive in New York
His advisor Jason Miller posted a picture of the Empire State Building taken from the plane saying “Hello NYC!” as they approached the airport.
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6h ago
15:30
What does this case centre around?
The case against Donald Trump centres around a $130,000 (£105,000) hush money payment allegedly made to porn star Stormy Daniels during the final days of the 2016 presidential campaign.
Ms Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, claims she had an affair with Trump in 2006, which the former US president denies.
In 2016, when he was running for president, she threatened to sell her story to the press.
Trump’s then-lawyer Michael Cohen was notified of her plans, resulting in the payment allegedly being made to keep Ms Daniels quiet.
Once he was elected, Mr Trump reimbursed Mr Cohen by paying him more than double the original amount but he continued to deny the affair.
It is also alleged that Mr Cohen made a second payment to former Playboy model Karen McDougal who said she had an extramarital sexual encounter with Trump.
The indictment against Trump has remained sealed, which is typical in New York before an arraignment.
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6h ago
15:28
Donald Trump has landed in New York
“Trump Force One” touched down at LaGuardia Airport in Queens moments ago.
The former president will now make his way to Trump Tower in Manhattan, where he is spending the night ahead of his arraignment.
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6h ago
15:15
Biden ‘has faith’ in New York police
US President Joe Biden has been asked if he is worried about protests in the wake of Donald Trump’s arrival in New York City.
In response, he simply said he “has faith” in the city’s police force.
Crowds have gathered outside Trump Tower in recent hours, with the majority of those outside the residence appearing in support of Trump.
The former president will shortly arrive at LaGuardia Airport in Queens.
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6h ago
15:05
Former prosecutor says case could be ‘problematic’
The case involving former president Donald Trump could be “problematic”, a former executive assistant district attorney has said.
Adam Kauffmann told Sky News that it has been claimed the indictment “involves the falsification of records within the Trump organisation”.
However, he said it could be that “what makes that a felony is that it was done to conceal another crime”.
Mr Kauffmann added: “We have heard that it involves the falsification of records within the Trump organisation and that what makes that a felony is that it was done to conceal another crime.
“Which in this case would be making payments designed to keep negative information from coming out about Donald Trump during his campaign.
“As a former prosecutor, this is a problematic case for the prosecution, there’s a lot of technical proof that they’ll have to bring. It is based on the testimony of a very damaged witness, Michael Cohen, who has been convicted of perjury and numerous federal crimes. So this case does have some problems.
“The conduct is probably not the most egregious we have ever seen. There are few other cases going on which could play out.
“There is a spectre of the politicisation of the criminal justice process. We have to wait and see what the indictment says.
“If you are going to indict a former president of the United States it should be over something pretty substantive rather than a technical violation, in my opinion.”
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7h ago
14:46
Trump hires new lawyer
Former president Donald Trump has hired white collar defence attorney Todd Blanche – who resigned from his firm Cadwalader, Wickersham and Taft to take on the case.
Mr Blanche said it was “best thing” for him to do and “an opportunity I should not pass up”.
He added: “I have been asked to represent Trump in the recently charged DA case, and after much thought and consideration, I have decided it is the best thing for me to do and an opportunity I should not pass up.”
Mr Blanche is a former Assistant US Attorney in the Southern District in Manhattan and has previously represented former Trump associate Paul Manafort.
He will join Susan Necheles and Joe Tacopina on Trump’s legal team.
Todd Blanche
Todd Blanche
Pic: AP
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7h ago
14:39
Trump’s lawyers object to cameras in court
Lawyers for Donald Trump have put forward an appeal asking for no audio and visual recordings to be made when his charges are read in court.
In a statement, lawyers Susan Necheles, Todd Blanche and Joe Tacopina said their admittance would “create a circus-like atmosphere at the arraignment”.
It added: “We respectfully write in opposition to the media request… to permit videographers, photographers, and radio journalists to take audio/visual recordings during tomorrow’s arraignment.
“We submit that the media request should be denied because it will create a circus-like atmosphere at the arraignment, raise unique security concerns, and is inconsistent with President Trump’s presumption of innocence.”
The media has pushed for greater access, asking that as many seats as possible in the courtroom be open to press representatives.
