Trump and New York brace themselves for a consequential week

NEW YORK - Former United States president Donald Trump

is preparing to walk into a Manhattan courtroom

as both a defendant and a candidate, making final plans for his arrest while also trying to maximise his surrender for political benefit.

Officials in New York, meanwhile, are bracing themselves for the circus-like atmosphere that expected protests might bring.

The Trump campaign on Sunday scheduled a prime-time news conference at Mar-a-Lago, the former president’s resort in Florida, on Tuesday night, just hours after he is expected to turn himself in.

The campaign has been using his indictment in fund-raising appeals and said it raised US$4 million (S$5.3 million) in just 24 hours, although financial records corroborating the claim will not be available for weeks.

The planning reflects Trump’s belief that the indictment will ultimately bolster his standing in his third bid for the Republican presidential nomination, with Republicans who have been considering alternatives rallying to his side.

His recent polling has been among the strongest of his 2024 campaign.

On Sunday, some Trump critics came to his defence, suggesting that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg might have targeted him unfairly.

The actual crimes Trump is accused of are not publicly known, although they are believed to be related to a hush money payment to Ms Stormy Daniels, a former porn actress who claims she had an affair with him.

The indictment, news of which broke on Thursday, may not be unsealed before his arraignment.

Trump was expected to fly into La Guardia Airport in New York from Florida on his private plane on Monday afternoon and stay the night at his apartment in Trump Tower, meeting his lawyers while there.

Aides are trying to negotiate a short visit to the courthouse in Lower Manhattan for a mid-afternoon arraignment, said people familiar with his plans.

The next few days could be critical for Trump, and advisers have warned him that he could easily damage his own case, according to a person involved in the discussions who requested anonymity because the talks were private.

Trump wrote an especially incendiary post on his social media site, Truth Social, that featured a news article with a photo of Mr Bragg on one side and Trump holding a baseball bat on the other. It was eventually taken down, after pleading by advisers.

Trump has also attacked the judge – comments his lawyers tried to smooth over in appearances on morning talk shows on Sunday.

When he arrives in court, Trump, unlike typical defendants, will be surrounded by a phalanx of Secret Service agents, making all logistics much more complicated.

He will be fingerprinted and will possibly have a police photo taken.

Such photos are typically not released publicly in New York, although the intense public interest in this case could change that.

While it is normal for defendants charged with felonies to be handcuffed – as former Trump Organisation chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg was in 2021 – one of Trump’s lawyers, Mr Joseph Tacopina, has said he does not expect that to occur.

Before the arraignment, Trump is likely to be held in an interview room as opposed to a cell, according to the person involved in the Trump team’s discussions.

He will then enter a courtroom and make his plea, which is expected to be not guilty.

While there is expected to be at least one camera set up in the courthouse hallway capturing his walk to the courtroom, cameras are typically not allowed in New York courtrooms.

But news outlets have asked the judge to make an exception.

Law enforcement officials were preparing for a chaotic atmosphere, with protests around Trump Tower and near the courthouse. Barricades were set up near the office tower, stretching several blocks.

Police officers were warned that they might be called on for crowd control around the courthouse.

The presence of what is likely the most famous defendant the Manhattan Criminal Court has ever seen, with his own unique security needs, has led to all kinds of changes in how the courthouse will function that day.

Still, despite concerns about the potential for violence, particularly after the Jan 6, 2021, attack on the United States Capitol building by a pro-Trump mob, there were few signs that a repeat was likely.

Trump’s advisers have been trying to impress upon him the need to avoid rousing his supporters in a way that leads to violence, people close to him have said.

On Sunday, Mr Tacopina and another of Trump’s lawyers, Mr Jim Trusty, appeared on television programmes and tried to tamp down any inflammation their client might have caused on social media, particularly through his attacks on the judge in the case, Mr Juan M. Merchan, an acting New York Supreme Court justice.

Trump has claimed Justice Merchan, who also presided over the trial of the Trump Organisation in 2022, was “hand-picked” by prosecutors.

Last week, Trump declared on Truth Social that Justice Merchan “hates me”.

“I have no issue with this judge whatsoever,” Mr Tacopina said on CNN’s State Of The Union. “He has a very good reputation.”

Mr Tacopina has otherwise aggressively defended Trump on television and some of Trump’s advisers have privately complained that the lawyer is not helping his client’s cause.

Trump, whose legal team is in flux, has told several people he thinks Mr Tacopina is a “fighter”.

As he heads into this consequential week, Trump finds himself in the unusual position of receiving support from nearly all factions of the Republican Party. Even officials he considers enemies have condemned Mr Bragg’s pursuit of Trump.

“This seems to be more about the person than about the crime,” Senator Bill Cassidy said on Fox News Sunday. Mr Cassidy voted to convict Trump for his role in instigating the Jan 6 attack.

Another surprising defender emerged in Mr William Barr, the former attorney-general who fell out bitterly with Trump because he refused to go along with Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

In a Fox News Sunday interview, Mr Barr sharply criticised Mr Bragg’s indictment and predicted it would set off a wave of politically motivated prosecutions.

“I do think that this is a watershed moment and I don’t think it’s going to end up good for the country,” he added.

But Mr Barr did offer some tongue-in-cheek advice for his former boss, who faces multiple investigations that may result in charges: It would be a “particularly bad idea” for Trump to appear on the stand. “He lacks all self-control,” Mr Barr said. “And it would be very difficult to prepare him and keep him testifying in a prudent fashion.”

Some Trump allies have made clear they want any protests in New York to remain civil, particularly because Trump has called for his supporters to protest.

His longest-serving adviser, Mr Roger Stone, urged supporters to be “peaceful” and “legal” if they showed up for a planned rally outside Trump Tower on Monday morning. NYTIMES