World

Trump is heading to court. Here’s what to expect

Published

1 year ago

04/04/2023

Donald Trump, the former U.S. president and front-runner for the Republican nomination in 2024, will appear in court on Tuesday to be fingerprinted, photographed and formally charged in a watershed moment ahead of next year’s presidential election.

Indicted last week, Trump is the first sitting or former president to face criminal charges, over a case involving a 2016 hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. He has denied any wrongdoing and repeatedly assailed the investigation, calling the indictment “political persecution” and predicted it would damage Democrats in 2024.

Trump, 76, will turn himself in on Tuesday amid tight security and street protests.

“We have to take back our Country and, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump wrote on social media shortly after arriving in New York from Florida on Monday.

Here’s what to expect:

What’s the plan?

Trump flew into New York from his Mar-a-Lago estate on Monday and is expected to leave Trump Tower on Tuesday and make the nearly four-mile drive to the Manhattan criminal courthouse, where he is scheduled to face a judge for his arraignment at 2:15 p.m. (1815 GMT)

Will there be a ‘perp walk’?

No. So-called perp walks happen when a criminal suspect is taken in handcuffs out of a police precinct and then driven to the courthouse. But Trump won’t be going to a police precinct. He’s arranged a surrender with the district attorney’s office and will head straight to the court, skipping a police station entirely. It’s very unlikely anyone will get a glimpse of him going into court, unless he wants to be seen. That’s because there are underground entrances, side doors and tunnels in and around the Manhattan courthouse.

What happens after he surrenders?

Trump will get booked. Here’s what that means: Before courts had computers, information on every criminal suspect was written down in a big book kept by court officials. Now, it’s all computerized, but the process is largely the same. Court officers will take down Trump’s full name, age, birthdate, height and weight. They’ll check to see if the former president has any outstanding warrants. They’ll take his fingerprints, but they won’t roll his fingertips in ink; these days that’s done by computer, too. Officers will roll each fingertip on a computerized screen that records the prints. They may take his photo, known as a mug shot. In New York, this process usually takes about two hours, but can be as long as four. Then he goes before a judge.

What happens in the hearing?

An arraignment is a hearing in which the indictment will be formally unsealed and the charges will be read aloud, though Trump could request to wave the public reading. He will be asked how he pleads to the charges and he will answer “guilty” or “not guilty.” And Trump’s attorneys Joe Tacopina, Susan Necheles and Todd Blanche will work with the judge and the district attorney’s office to set a date for the next time he’d be back in court. The judge has ruled that news photographers would be allowed to take photos of the former president at the start of his arraignment.

Will he be arrested?

Technically, yes.When he’s fingerprinted and processed, he’s considered under arrest and in custody. But it won’t look the movies. He won’t be handcuffed and he won’t sit in a jail cell, in part because parts of the courthouse will be cleared out for his arraignment – and because Trump is a former president with Secret Service protection. Not all defendants are handcuffed before they appear before a judge for an arraignment, though some are.

If there is a mug shot, will it be made public?

It depends. In New York City, mug shots aren’t generally made public. They are taken by the law enforcement agency that makes the arrest. There are situations where a judge could make the photo public in response to a public records fight. It could also get leaked, too.

What else is happening at the courthouse on Tuesday?

Court officials are trying to limit what business is happening at the courthouse at 100 Centre St. in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday. Police are expected to close some streets around the plaza and security will be tight. The New York Police Department is in charge of security in the city, but state court officers are in charge of security inside the court.

Will trump walk out of there?

In all likelihood, yes. New York’s bail laws have been overhauled over the past few years, meaning Trump would be released without bail because the anticipated charges against him don’t require that bail be set. But it’s possible that Judge Juan Merchan could decide that Trump is a flight risk and order him held in custody, with or without bail. Trump’s lawyers would argue that the former president’s ties to the U.S. are strong, and because he’s a presidential candidate, he has no reason to flee and should be allowed to leave.

What happens next?

The judge and legal teams will set dates for the next hearing and deadlines for discovery, in which the district attorney’s office must turn over all its information to Trump’s lawyers, and motions, which include any requests to shift the venue or dismiss the case outright. That process usually takes months. Tacopina has said he needs to read the indictment first and research before he decides what to do on a change of venue or any motions to dismiss, though it would be very common to file one.

Trump faces a string of inquiries. In addition to the hush money case in New York, Trump faces a Georgia inquiry over whether he tried to overturn his 2020 election defeat in the state.

Source(s): CGTN

World

President Xi stresses China’s stance on Gaza conflict, Ukraine crisis

Published

3 hours ago

07/05/2024

Chinese President Xi Jinping re-emphasized China’s principled position on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the Ukraine crisis when he met the press with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Monday in Paris.

He stressed that China supports the two-state solution to achieve lasting peace in the Middle East, and supports a peace conference to bring back Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table for the Ukraine crisis.

Noting that the prolonged tragedy of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is a test for human conscience, Xi said the international community must act. He called on all parties to work for an immediate, comprehensive and sustainable ceasefire in Gaza.

He stressed that China supports the full membership of Palestine in the United Nations, supports restoring to Palestine its legitimate national rights and restarting the two-state solution, so as to achieve lasting peace in the Middle East.

On the Ukraine crisis, Xi said China is not a party to or a participant of the ongoing conflict. But instead of being an onlooker, China has been playing an important role for peace, Xi added. He said the special representative of the Chinese government on Eurasian affairs has started his third round of shuttle diplomacy to promote the political settlement of the crisis.

Xi stressed that China opposes attempts to use the Ukraine crisis to scapegoat or smear a third country or to stoke a “new Cold War.”

“History has proven time and again that, at the end of the day, conflicts can only be resolved through negotiation,” Xi said. He called on all parties to resume engagement and dialogue to build mutual trust, saying China supports holding, at a proper time, an international peace conference that is recognized by both Russia and Ukraine and ensures the equal participation of all parties and fair discussions on all peace plans.

China supports a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture in Europe, Xi said.

Source(s): CGTN

World

Gaza truce uncertain, Hamas to deliver ‘final response’ in two days

Published

1 day ago

06/05/2024

Prospects for a Gaza ceasefire appeared uncertain on Sunday as a Hamas delegation left Cairo.

A Palestinian source, who preferred not to mention his name, said the Hamas delegation, who departed Cairo on Sunday for consultations with the movement’s leadership in Doha, Qatar, will return with a “final response” to the Egyptian proposal two days later.

According to the source, during the two-day talks in Cairo, the Hamas delegation met with Egyptian security officials and addressed “all issues” that could hinder reaching an agreement on the Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange with Israel, confirming that “significant” consensus has been achieved between the delegation and the Egyptian mediators.

The Egyptian proposal consists of three stages, aimed at exchanging Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, taking necessary measures to reach a ceasefire, and restoring sustainable calm.

The first stage would span 40 days and bring out a temporary halt of military operations between the two sides, an exchange of hostages and prisoners, and the return of internally displaced civilians to their areas of residence in Gaza. It also includes facilitating the entry of sufficient humanitarian aid, relief materials and fuel into Gaza, as well as the equipment needed to remove rubble, establish camps for the displaced, and rehabilitate and operate hospitals, health centers and bakeries in the strip.

Also on Sunday, Hamas Political Bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement that his movement is keen to reach a comprehensive agreement that ends the current conflict in Gaza and ensures a prisoner exchange with Israel. Meanwhile, he accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “inventing constant justifications to continue the aggression, expand the scope of the conflict, and sabotage mediation efforts.”

Israel has not officially commented on the proposal. The main point of contention between the two sides remains the duration of the truce, with Hamas demanding that Israel halt the conflict, while Israel insists on continuing until it deems Hamas defeated.

Despite intensive mediation efforts and international calls for a ceasefire, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Sunday that Israel assesses the likelihood of reaching an agreement with Hamas as low, adding the order to launch an onslaught on Rafah, the enclave’s southernmost city, will be given “very soon.”

About 1.2 million people have been sheltering in Rafah, according to estimates by the United Nations, escaping Israeli bombardments in other areas as well as the famine-stricken northern Gaza.

World Food Program Executive Director Cindy McCain said in an NBC News interview broadcast on Sunday that based on the “horror” on the ground: “There is famine, full-blown famine, in the north, and it’s moving its way south.”

Also on Sunday, Israeli authorities raided a Jerusalem hotel room used by Al Jazeera as its office, an Israeli official and an Al Jazeera source told Reuters.

Netanyahu’s cabinet has agreed to shut down the network’s local operations for as long as the conflict in Gaza continues, saying it threatened national security.

Al Jazeera said the move was a “criminal action” and the accusation that the network threatened Israeli security was a “dangerous and ridiculous lie” that put its journalists at risk. It reserved the right to “pursue every legal step.”

Source(s): CGTN

World

UN report: Conflict could set Gaza development back four decades

Published

4 days ago

03/05/2024

The development of Gaza could face a retrogression by over four decades if the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict was to last for nine months, according to a UN report.

The report, issued on Thursday, reveals a joint study by the UN Development Programme and the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), which warns of sharp decline in the Human Development Index (HDI), a summary measure of well-being, in the Gaza Strip and Palestine amid the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

The study showed that after nine months of the conflict, the HDI for Gaza could fall to 0.551, setting back progress by 44 years. For Palestine, development could retrogress by more than 20 years – to earlier than 2004.

“This assessment projects that Gaza will be rendered fully dependent on external assistance on a scale not seen since 1948, as it will be left without a functional economy, or any means of production, self-sustainment, employment, or capacity for trade,” said ESCWA Executive Secretary Rola Dashti.

As the conflict approaches its seventh month, the poverty rate in Palestine has surged to 58.4 percent and its GDP has plunged by 26.9 percent, resulting in a loss of $7.1 billion from a 2023 no-war baseline, the UN report showed.

At least 34,596 Palestinians have been killed and 77,816 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7, according to latest update by Palestine’s health ministry.

Hamas said on Thursday it is studying Israeli ceasefire proposals in a “positive spirit” and a delegation is set to visit Egypt soon for further talks, as Israel reiterates it will attack Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah regardless.

Meanwhile, Israel launched an aerial attack from the direction of the occupied Golan Heights on Thursday night against a military site near the Syrian capital of Damascus, injuring eight soldiers and causing material losses, the Syrian Defense Ministry said.

The targeted areas are known strongholds for elements of Hezbollah and Iranian-backed militias, according to the observatory in Syria.

This attack follows a reported decline in Israeli attacks over the past month, which the Syrian observatory’s director attributed to the strikes on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1.

Iran on Thursday announced sanctions on several American and British individuals and entities for supporting Israel in its war against Hamas. The sanctions include prohibiting accounts and transactions in the Iranian financial and banking systems, and blocking assets within the jurisdiction of Iran as well as visa issuance and entry to the Iranian territory.

Türkiye also announced the halt of all trade activities with Israel as of Thursday until the latter allows the flow of humanitarian aid to the region, said the Turkish trade ministry.

A Shiite militia in Iraq on Thursday claimed responsibility for a missile attack on three sites in the cities of Tel Aviv and Be’er Sheva in Israel “in solidarity with the people of Gaza,” and pledged to persist in targeting the “enemy’s strongholds.” The group has launched multiple attacks on Israeli and U.S. bases in the region since the Gaza conflict broke out.

Source(s): CGTN