Trump indictment live updates: Ex-president released on bond under strict rules

Trump
—
who
loves
talking
to
people
both
in
person
and
on
social
media
—
got
a
clear
warning
at
his
arraignment
against
talking
too
much
to
people
who
might
be
witnesses
in
the
election
case
he
now
faces.

It’s
a
restriction
that
could
prove
especially
difficult
for
Trump.

Several
of
the
people
who
worked
in
the
Trump
White
House
in
its
final
months,
the
period
during
which
prosecutors
allege
that
Trump
illegally
sought
to
overturn
the
election
results,
still
work
for
him.

As
Trump
boarded
his
plane
back
to
New
Jersey,
he
was
accompanied
by
his
valet
Walt
Nauta,
himself
a
defendant
in
another
federal
criminal
case
pending
against
the
former
president
in
Florida.
There,
Trump
is
accused
of
retaining
classified
national
security
records
after
he
left
office.

The
federal
judge
there
told
Trump
not
to
talk
to
Nauta
directly
about
the
case.
But
the
men
routinely
spend
hours
together,
sometimes
alone.

Trump
also
has
a
strong
tendency
to
spout
off
about
the
trio
of
criminal
cases
he
faces
on
Truth
Social,
his
social
media
site
that
he
has
embraced
after
being
banned
by
Twitter
in
early
2021.

Federal
prosecutors
in
a
prior
criminal
case
against
Trump’s
friend
Roger
Stone
asked
a
judge
to
ratchet
up
a
gag
order
in
that
case
after
Stone
posted
an
Instagram
photo
of
the
judge
next
to
a
rifle
scope’s
crosshair.

–
Dan
Mangan

Artist’s
sketches
from
inside
the
courtroom
where
former
President
Donald
Trump
pleaded
not
guilty
to
charges
of
conspiring
to
overthrow
the
2020.
These
are
the
only
images
that
will
be
public
—
the
use
of
cameras
was
strictly
forbidden.

—
Christina
Wilkie

Former
President
Donald
Trump
is
back
to
fundraising
off
of
his
latest
legal
hurdle
as
the
campaign
called
on
donors
to
give
as
he
was
being
arraigned
in
Washington
D.C.

The
Trump
campaign
sent
a
fundraising
email
signed
by
Trump’s
son,
Eric
Trump.

“My
father
has
been
officially
ARRAIGNED
right
in
the
belly
of
the
beast
–
the
D.C.
Swamp
–
despite
having
committed
NO
CRIME,”
the
email
reads
while
trying
to
encourage
donors
to
give
to
the
Trump
Save
America
Joint
Fundraising
Committee.

That
committee
raises
money
for
Trump’s
2024
campaign
and
his
leadership
PAC,
Save
America.
That
PAC
spent

north
of
$20
million
on
legal
fees
for
Trump
and
his
allies
in
the
first
half
of
the
year.

The
Trump
campaign
sent
out
another
fundraising
email
earlier
in
the
day,
calling
on
donors
to
give
$47
in
exchange
for
a
t-shirt
that
says
“Never
Surrender.”

—
Brian
Schwartz

Seven
federal
judges
sat
in
the
D.C.
courthouse
and
watched
while
Trump
was
arraigned
by
their
magistrate
judge
colleague.

The
group
included
Chief
Judge
James
Boasberg,
and
judges
Amy
Berman
Jackson
and
Randy
Moss,
who
were
with
four
others
in
the
back
row
of
the
room.

Jackson
has
presided
over
a
number
of
criminal
cases
involving
Trump
associates.

Trump,
while
president
in
2020,
blasted
her
in
a
tweet
as
she
prepared
to
sentence
his
longtime
advisor
Roger
Stone,
the
notorious
Republican
self-described
trickster,
for
witness
tampering,
lying
to
Congress
and
obstructing
a
House
investigation.

“Is
this
the
Judge
that
put
Paul
Manafort
in
SOLITARY
CONFINEMENT,
something
that
not
even
mobster
Al
Capone
had
to
endure?”
Trump

wrote
about
Jackson,
referring
to
Manafort’s
own
criminal
case.
“How
did
she
treat
Crooked
Hillary
Clinton?
Just
asking!”

Trump
later
pardoned
both
Stone
and
Manafort,
who
served
as
his
2016
campaign
chief,
before
leaving
the
White
House.
The
two
men
were
lobbying
business
partners
long
before
becoming
federal
convicts.

—
Dan
Mangan

Trump
accused
President
Joe
Biden
of
orchestrating
the
“persecution
of
a
political
opponent”
as
he
departed
D.C.
following
his
not
guilty
plea.

“This
was
never
supposed
to
happen
in
America,”
Trump
said
on
an
airport
tarmac
before
boarding
his
private
jet.
“We
can’t
let
this
happen
in
America.”

Calling
it
a
“sad
day”
for
the
country,
Trump
also
claimed
that
there
was
more
“filth
and
decay”
in
the
nation’s
capital
than
when
he
was
president.

“This
is
not
the
place
that
I
left,”
he
said.

Trump
also
touted
his
lead
in
the
GOP
primary
and
claimed
he
is
“beating
Biden
by
a
lot”
in
polls
of
the
prospective
2024
general
election.

“If
you
can’t
beat
him,
you
persecute
or
you
prosecute,”
he
said.

Trump
took
no
questions.

—

Kevin
Breuninger

Trump’s
defense
attorney
said
in
the
hearing
that
it
would
be
“somewhat
absurd”
to
lock
the
case
into
the
timeline
dictated
by
the
Speedy
Trial
Act.

The
attorney,
John
Lauro,
pointed
to
the
large
volume
of
evidence
involved
in
the
case
as
he
asked
the
magistrate
judge
“for
a
little
time”
to
“fairly
defend”
Trump.

If
the
case
follows
the
Speedy
Trial
Act
rules,
it
could
proceed
to
a
trial
within
the
next
few
months.

Lauro
on
Wednesday
had
suggested
the
trial
should
be
pushed
to
a
much
later
date,
saying
that
since
special
counsel
Jack
Smith
had
“three
and
a
half
years”
to
investigate
Trump,
“why
don’t
we
make
it
equal?”

—

Kevin
Breuninger

Trump’s
next
hearing
after
his
arraignment
was
set
for
Aug.
28
at
10
a.m.
before
Judge
Tanya
Chutkan
in
Washington,
D.C.,
federal
court.

Prosecutors
asked
Magistrate
Judge
Moxila
Upadhyaya
to
set
the
hearing
for
Aug.
21
after
she
gave
them
three
possible
dates.

Trump
requested
Aug.28^.

—
Dan
Mangan

Before
Trump
was
sworn
to
the
conditions
of
his
release,
the
magistrate
judge
reminded
him
that
it
is
a
crime
to
try
to
influence
a
juror,
NBC
reported.

Trump
signaled
that
he
understood.

—

Kevin
Breuninger

Trump
was
ordered
released
on
an
appearance
bond
during
his
arraignment.

Magistrate
Judge
Moxila
Upadhyaya
set
Trump’s
bond
after
the
former
president
pleaded
not
guilty
to
four
criminal
counts:
conspiracy
to
defraud
the
United
States,
conspiracy
to
obstruct
an
official
proceeding,
obstruction
of
and
attempt
to
obstruct
an
official
proceeding
and
conspiracy
against
rights.

As
a
condition
of
his
bond,
Trump
was
ordered
not
to
violate
local
law,
and
to
not
discuss
the
facts
of
the
case
with
any
witness
other
than
through
attorneys.

Upadhyaya
asked
Trump
if
he
understood
the
conditions
of
his
release,
and
the
risk
that
he
will
be
arrested
if
he
violates
them.
He
indicated
he
did.

Prosecutors
did
not
seek
to
detain
him
pending
trial.

—
Dan
Mangan

Trump
sat
face
to
face
with
the
federal
prosecutors
as
they
awaited
the
start
of
the
hearing,
NBC
News
reported.

Special
counsel
Jack
Smith,
sitting
in
the
front
row
of
the
courtroom,
was
positioned
diagonally
from
Trump,
per
NBC.

Smith
did
not
look
at
Trump
as
the
former
president
entered
the
courtroom,
according
to
NBC.

—

Kevin
Breuninger

Trump
pleaded
not
guilty
to
four
criminal
counts
related
to
his
effort
to
overturn
the
2020
election.

The
former
president
entered
his
plea
before
Magistrate
Judge
Moxila
Upadhyaya
in
U.S.
District
Court
in
Washington,
D.C.

Watching
on
was
Department
of
Justice
special
counsel
Jack
Smith,
who
now
has
filed
two
major
criminal
cases
against
Trump.

The
other,
pending
in
Florida,
accuses
Trump
of
withholding
classified
documents
after
leaving
the
White
House.

Trump’s
arraignment
in
the
new
case
came
two
days
after
a
D.C.
grand
jury
indicted
him.

—

Dan
Mangan

Special
counsel
Jack
Smith
has
entered
the
courtroom,
putting
him
within
a
few
yards
of
Trump.

Smith
is
seated
in
the
front
row
on
the
right
side
of
the
room,
NBC
News
reported.
Trump
is
seated
at
a
defense
table
with
his
attorneys.

—

Kevin
Breuninger

Trump
walked
into
court
for
his
arraignment
where
he
was
seated
with
his
lawyers,
Todd
Blanche
and
John
Lauro.

Special
counsel
Jack
Smith,
whose
office
is
prosecuting
the
former
president,
was
already
in
the
room
with
his
team.

—
Dan
Mangan

Alina
Habba,
Trump’s
legal
spokeswoman
and
general
counsel
for
his
leadership
PAC,
claimed
that
Trump
was
being
targeted
with
crimes
as
a
“deflection”
from
alleged
wrongdoing
by
the
Biden
administration.

Habba’s
remarks
to
reporters
outside
the
D.C.
courthouse

echoed
many
of
Trump’s
allies
who
have
pointed
to
President
Joe
Biden’s
son
Hunter
Biden
following
the
ex-president’s
latest
indictment.

A
Twitter
account
affiliated
with
the
Trump
campaign
released
a
graphic
Thursday
afternoon
that
made
a
similar
claim.

—

Kevin
Breuninger

Three
police
officers
who
were
assaulted
on
Jan.
6,
2021,
while
defending
the
U.S.
Capitol
from
a
violent
mob
of
Trump
supporters
were
escorted
into
court
for
his
arraignment.

The
cops,
Capitol
Police
Officer Harry
Dunn,
Metropolitan
Police
Officer Daniel
Hodges and
former
USCP
Sgt. Aquilino
Gonell,
were
being
seated
in
an
overflow
room
at
the
E.
Barrett
Prettyman
Courthouse.

“When
I
first
testified
before
the
Jan
6th
committee,
I
was
seeking
justice
and
accountability
for
everyone
responsible
for
that
day,”
Dunn
wrote
in
a
text
message
to
NBC
News.

“Just
as
I’ve
attended
every
hearing
and
court
case
possible,
this
one
isn’t
any
different,”
Dunn
wrote.

—
Dan
Mangan

Trump’s
trip
to
D.C.
for
his
historic
arraignment
marked
a
rare
return
to
the
nation’s
capital
for
the
former
president
who
is
seeking
to
re-take
the
White
House
in
2024.

Trump’s
term
in
office
ended
on
Jan.
20,
2021.
He
skipped
President
Joe
Biden’s
inauguration
and
flew
to
his
home
and
resort
in
Palm
Beach,
Florida.

Trump
traveled
to
D.C.
in
July
2022
to
deliver
a

speech
at
a
conference
of
the
America
First
Policy
Institute,
a
pro-Trump
nonprofit.

Two
months
later,
Trump

reportedly
made
a
trip
to
the
D.C.
area
to
visit
his
northern
Virginia
golf
club.

—

Kevin
Breuninger

Todd
Blanche,
the
lawyer
who
already
represents
Trump
in
his
first
two
pending
criminal
cases,
has
signed
on
to
represent
him
in
his
new
indictment
in
Washington,
D.C.,
federal
court.

Blanche
entered
a
motion
asking
a
judge
in
Washington
to
allow
him
to
represent
Trump,
a
step
needed
because
the
attorney
is
not
admitted
to
practice
in
the
District
of
Columbia.
Another
lawyer,
John
Lauro,
who
is
admitted
in
Washington,
has
entered
an
appearance
in
the
case
to
represent
Trump.

Blanche
first
repped
Trump
in
the
Manhattan
District
Attorney’s
prosecution
of
the
former
president
in
New
York
state
court
for
falsifying
business
records
related
to
a
2016
hush
money
payment
to
porn
star
Stormy
Daniels.

That
case
is
headed
to
trial
next
year,
as
is
the
second
criminal
case
where
Blanche
represents
Trump.

That
indictment,
in
the
federal
district
encompassing
southern
Florida,
alleges
Trump
illegally
retained
classified
government
records
after
leaving
the
White
House,
and
that
he
and
two
other
men
who
worked
for
him
tried
to
keep
the
documents
out
of
the
hands
of
government
officials.

—
Dan
Mangan

Former
President
Donald
Trump
is
facing
an
avalanche
of
criminal
charges
as
he
mounts
a
campaign
to
secure
the
Republican
nomination
and
take
back
the
White
House
from
President
Joe
Biden
in
2024.

Trump
has
managed
to
rack
up
78
criminal
charges
across
three
separate
jurisdictions
in
a
matter
of
just
three
months.

The
charges
range
from
falsifying
business
records
in
New
York,
to
mishandling
classified
documents
in
Florida,
to
defrauding
the
entire
nation
in
an
attempt
to
overturn
a
free
and
fair
presidential
election.

In
New
York,
the
Manhattan
District
Attorney
has
slapped
the
former
president
with

34
criminal
counts
for
falsifying
business
records
in
an
attempt
to
silence
two
women
during
his
2016
presidential
campaign.

In
Florida,
special
counsel
Jack
Smith
has
charged
Trump
on
40
counts
related
to

mishandling
classified
government
documents.

And
in
the
nation’s
capital,
Smith
has
charged
the
former
president
with

four
criminal
counts
related
to
his
attempt
to
invalidate
the
2020
election.
Trump’s
lies
about
the
election
ultimately
resulted
in
the
violent
mob
attack
against
Congress
on
Jan.
6,
2021.

The
most
serious
charges
in
the
classified
documents
and
Jan.
6
cases
carry
20
years
in
prison.

And
the
president’s
legal
morass
probably
is
not
over
yet.
He
is
under

investigation
in
Georgia
for
his
attempt
to
overturn
Biden’s
victory
there,
with
indictments
expected
as
soon
as
this
month.

Despite
Trump’s
legal
woes,
he
remains
far
and
away
the
Republican
favorite
for
the
2024
presidential
nomination.

—

Spencer
Kimball

As
Trump
heads
to
court,
his
lawyers
have
already
laid
the
ground
for
his
defense
in
the
case:
The
constitutional
right
to
free
speech.

“There’s
nothing
that’s
more
protected
under
the
First
Amendment
than
political
speech,”
his
attorney,
John
Lauro,
told
CNN
right
after
Trump
was
indicted
in
the
case.

“Donald
Trump
had
every
right
to
advocate
for
his
position,”
Lauro
said.

“Now
his
advocacy
is
being
criminalized,”
the
lawyer
added.

Lauro’s
theory
hinges
on
the
idea
that
Trump
is
protected
from
prosecution
because
he
was
stating
a
political
opinion
that
he
was
the
victim
of
widespread
ballot
fraud
in
the
2020
election,
and
that
the
actions
he
took
were
in
response
to
that.

But
the
indictment
includes
evidence
that
indicates
Trump
knew
he
had
actually
lost
to
Biden,
and
argues
that
that
knowledge,
and
other
factors,
made
his
effort
to
undo
his
loss
fraudulent.

“Free
speech
doesn’t
give
you
the
right
to
engage
in
a
fraudulent
conspiracy,”
Trump’s
former
attorney
general
Bill
Barr
told
CNN.

—
Dan
Mangan

The
Atlanta
prosecutor
who
is
considering
soon
indicting
Trump
for
interfering
in
Georgia’s
2020
presidential
election
said
she
read
the
new
federal
indictment
against
him
for
such
efforts
nationally,
but
it
won’t
affect
any
of
her
potential
charges.

“I
took
an
oath
and
that
oath
requires
that
I
follow
the
law,
that
if
someone
broke
the
law
in
Fulton
County,
Georgia,
that
I
have
a
duty
to
prosecute,
and
that’s
exactly
what
I
plan
to
do,”
Fulton
County
District
Attorney
Fani
Willis
said.

Willis
is
a
state
prosecutor,
not
a
federal
one,
and
as
such
has
discretion
over
whether
to
file
state
charges
against
Trump
that
could
mirror
claims
in
the
Department
of
Justice’s
prosecution
of
him.

Willis,
who
is
Black,
described
some
of
the
vitriol
she’s
received
since
she
opened
the
probe
of
Trump,
a
White
man
who
has
called
her
and
another
black
prosecutor,
Manhattan
DA
Alvin
Bragg,
“racists.”

“I’ve
probably
been
called
the
N-word
more
times
in
the
last
two
and
a
half
years
than
100
people
combined,”
she
said.

—
Dan
Mangan

Special
counsel
Jack
Smith’s
motorcade
has
departed
from
his
office,
NBC
News
reported.

Smith’s
office
is
roughly
a
10-minute
drive
from
the
E.
Barrett
Prettyman
federal
courthouse
where
Trump
is
slated
to
soon
arrive.

—

Kevin
Breuninger

Trump’s
plane
has
arrived
at
Reagan
National
Airport
ahead
of
his
court
appearance
in
D.C.

The
plane,
a
Boeing
757
jet
nicknamed
“Trump
Force
One,”
took
off
from
an
airport
in
Newark,
New
Jersey
shortly
after
2
p.m.
ET.

—

Kevin
Breuninger

Former
President
Donald
Trump
railed
against
President
Joe
Biden
and
his
family
just
hours
before
the
45th
president
was
due
to
appear
in
federal
court
for
an
arraignment
hearing.

“Biden
and
his
family
steal
Millions
and
Millions
of
Dollars,
including
BRIBES
from
foreign
countries,
and
I’m
headed
to
D.C.
to
be
arrested
for
protesting
a
CROOKED
ELECTION,”

Trump
wrote
on
the
social
media
platform
Truth
Social.

“Unfair
venue,
unfair
judge.
We
are
a
nation
in
decline.
MAGA!!!”

Trump’s
campaign
wrote
in
a
statement
that
the
Biden
administration
directed
federal
prosecutor
Jack
Smith
to
lead
the
investigation,
which
it
described
as
“an
unprecedented
act
of
election
interference.”

—
Amanda
Macias

Mike
Pence’s
presidential
campaign
is
looking
to
cash
in
on
Trump’s
latest
criminal
charges
with
a
new
line
of
merch
that
leans
into
the
ex-vice
president’s
break
with
his
former
boss
over
the
2020
election
results.

Pence
was
at
the
center
of
an
alleged
scheme
by
Trump
and
his
co-conspirators
to
challenge
President
Joe
Biden’s
electoral
victory
by
rejecting
key
electoral
votes
during
the
certification
process
at
the
U.S.
Capitol
on
Jan.
6,
2021.
Pence
had
refused,
saying
his
ceremonial
role
presiding
over
Congress
on
that
day
did
not
give
him
the
authority
to
reject
those
votes.

The
indictment
alleges
that
five
days
before
Jan.
6,
Trump
called
Pence
and
“berated”
him
for
opposing
a
lawsuit
that
claimed
the
vice
president
could
send
back
votes
during
the
certification.
When
Pence
pushed
back,
Trump
told
him,
“You’re
too
honest.”

On
Thursday
afternoon,
Pence’s
campaign
started
selling
baseball
caps
and
T-shirts
with
“Too
Honest”
emblazoned
in
red
letters
on
the
front.
The
hats
sell
for
$27
and
the
shirts
go
for
$30.

—

Kevin
Breuninger

Far
from
the
action
in
Washington,
President
Joe
Biden
is
vacationing
in
Rehoboth
Beach,
Del.

Biking
by
reporters,
Biden
said
“no”
when
asked
if
he
was
following
the
arraignment,
NBC
reported.

—

Emma
Kinery

Trump
will
have
his
fingerprints
taken
digitally
as
part
of
the
booking
process
but
authorities
will
not
take
a
mugshot
of
the
former
president,
a
U.S.
Marshals
spokesperson
told
NBC
News.

An
existing
photo
of
the
president
will
be
used
for
his
booking,
the
spokesperson
said.

No
mugshots
were
taken
during
Trump’s
previous
arraignments
on
charges
of
falsifying
business
records
and
mishandling
classified
documents.

—

Spencer
Kimball

Trump’s
motorcade
was
seen
departing
from
his
Bedminster,
New
Jersey,
golf
club
ahead
of
his
4
p.m.
ET
court
appearance
in
federal
court
in
Washington,
D.C.

Images
apparently
taken
from
helicopters
overhead
showed

Trump
wearing
a
blue
suit
and
a
red
tie
as
he
entered
the
motorcade
and
left
the
property.

—

Kevin
Breuninger

Former
New
Jersey
Gov.
Chris
Christie
said
he
has
been
questioned
in
one
of
the
investigations
into
Trump.

Christie,
a
former
ally
to
the
former
president
who
has
since
become
one
of
his
loudest
Republican
critics,
revealed
his
involvement
in
a
Trump
probe
during
an
interview
on
the
podcast
“On
with
Kara
Swisher.”

Christie
declined
to
say
which
investigation
he
had
participated
in.
But
he
said
his
questioners
“were
trying
to
get
a
handle
on
what
I
knew
about
his
knowledge
of
the
reality
of
the
election
results.”

He
said
he
was
questioned
between
six
and
eight
weeks
ago.

“I
was
honest,”
he
added.

Christie’s
campaign
did
not
immediately
respond
to
a
request
for
comment
on
the
former
governor’s
remarks.

—

Kevin
Breuninger

Bill
Barr,
who
served
as
Trump’s
attorney
general,
said
the
former
president
“doesn’t
care”
about
the
lives
that
might
have
been
ruined
by
participating
in
the
Jan.
6
riot
and
from
serving
in
his
government.

“No,
he
doesn’t
care
about
that,”
Barr
said
in
a
CNN
interview.
“Loyalty
is
a
one-way
street
for
him.”

Barr
also
said
he
thinks
the
new
indictment
against
Trump
is
“a
legitimate
case.”

But,
he
added
that
he
was
concerned
“about
the
slippery
slope
of
criminalizing
legitimate
political
activity.”

That
said,
Barr
dismissed
the
idea
floated
by
Trump’s
lawyers
that
he
is
being
charged
for
political
speech
that
is
protected
by
his
First
Amendment
constitutional
right.

“I
really
don’t
think
that’s
a
valid
argument,”
Barr
said.
“They’re
not
attacking
his
First
Amendment
right.
He
can
say
whatever
he
wants.
He
can
even
lie.
He
can
even
tell
people
that
the
election
was
stolen
when
he
knew
better.
But
that
does
not
protect
you
from
entering
into
a
conspiracy.
All
conspiracies
involve
speech,
and
all
fraud
involves
speech.”

“Free
speech
doesn’t
give
you
the
right
to
engage
in
a
fraudulent
conspiracy,”
he
said.

—
Dan
Mangan

Special
counsel
Jack
Smith’s
indictment
alleges
a
monthslong
effort
by
Trump
and
a
half-dozen
co-conspirators
to
overturn
his
2020
election
loss
through
a
shifting,
multi-layered
conspiracy
that
ran
afoul
of
multiple
federal
statutes.

Trump
is
accused
of
perpetrating
three
criminal
conspiracies:

1. A
   conspiracy
   to
   defraud
   the
   United
   States
   “by
   using
   dishonesty,
   fraud,
   and
   deceit
   to
   impair,
   obstruct,
   and
   defeat”
   the
   lawful
   certification
   of
   President
   Joe
   Biden’s
   electoral
   victory,
2. A
   conspiracy
   “to
   corruptly
   obstruct
   and
   impede”
   the
   Jan.
   6,
   2021,
   congressional
   proceeding
   where
   the
   Electoral
   College
   results
   were
   certified,
   and
3. A
   conspiracy
   against
   “the
   right
   to
   vote
   and
   to
   have
   one’s
   vote
   counted.”

Prosecutors
say
the
first
of
those
conspiracies
violated
18
U.S.C.
§
371,
Conspiracy
to
Defraud
the
United
States.

The
second
conspiracy
violated
18
U.S.C.
§
1512(k),
Conspiracy
to
Obstruct
an
Official
Proceeding,
they
allege.

The
third
conspiracy
allegedly
violated
18
U.S.C.
§
241,
Conspiracy
Against
Rights.

The
four-count
indictment
also
charges
Trump
with
violating
18
U.S.C.
§§
1512(c)(2),
2,
Obstruction
of
an
Attempt
to
Obstruct
an
Official
Proceeding.

—

Kevin
Breuninger

Trump
said
on
social
media
that
he
is
en
route
to
Washington,
D.C.,
for
his
arrest
and
arraignment
on
charges
of
conspiring
to
overturn
his
2020
election
loss.

“I
AM
NOW
GOING
TO
WASHINGTON,
D.C.,
TO
BE
ARRESTED
FOR
HAVING
CHALLENGED
A
CORRUPT,
RIGGED,
&
STOLEN
ELECTION,”
Trump
wrote
on
Truth
Social
at
12:01
p.m.
ET.

“IT
IS
A
GREAT
HONOR,
BECAUSE
I
AM
BEING
ARRESTED
FOR
YOU.
MAKE
AMERICA
GREAT
AGAIN!!!”

But
Trump
won’t
actually
be
arrested
when
he
enters
federal
court
to
respond
to
his
summons,
according
to
the
U.S.
Marshals
Service.

“He
is
going
today
to
appear
for
a
summons
and
that’s
it,”
said
Brady
McCarron,
deputy
chief
of
public
affairs
for
the
USMS,
in
a
phone
call
with
CNBC.

“He
is
not
being
arrested.
There
is
no
mugshot,
there
are
no
handcuffs,”
McCarron
said.

—

Kevin
Breuninger

As
the
former
president
faces
mounting
legal
peril,
Melania
Trump
has
largely
disappeared
from
public
life.

After
steadfastly
standing
by
her
husband
for
years,
the
former
first
lady
did
not
appear
at
Trump’s
side
for
his
two
previous
arraignments
on
charges
of
falsifying
business
records
and
mishandling
classified
documents.

And
she
has
not
commented
publicly
on
her
husband’s
latest
and
most
serious
indictment
on
charges
related
to
his
attempts
to
overturn
Joe
Biden’s
2020
election
victory.

CNBC
has
reached
out
to
the
former
president’s
campaign
to
see
if
Melania
Trump
will
be
will
be
with
him
at
the
arraignment.

Melania
Trump
has
also
been
absent
from
the
campaign
trail.
She
has
turned
down
requests
from
her
husband
to
appear
at
his
side
as
he
leads
the
pack
of
Republican
candidates
trying
to
clinch
the
party’s
presidential
nomination,
according
to
a

recent
profile
published
in
The
New
York
Times.

People
close
to
the
former
first
lady
told
the
Times
that
she
wants
to
protect
her
privacy
and
is
focused
on
helping
her
son
Barron
with
his
college
search.

Though
she’s
been
absent
from
the
limelight,
Trump’s
Save
America
political
action
committee
reported

spending
$108,000
in
the
first
part
of
the
year
on
Hervé
Pierre,
the
fashion
designer
who
has
worked
with
former
first
lady
Melania
Trump.
Save
America
listed
the
expense
as
“strategy
consulting.”

—

Spencer
Kimball

Trump
“knew
well
he
lost”
the
2020
presidential
election,
former
Attorney
General
Bill
Barr
said
on
the
eve
of
the
former
president’s
arraignment.

Barr
served
under
Trump
from
early
2019
to
December
2020.
As
Trump
was
spreading
conspiracy
theories
about
a
rigged
election
in
the
weeks
after
November
2020,
Barr
announced
that
his
office
had
found

no
evidence
of
widespread
voter
fraud.

The
special
counsel
indictment
accuses
Trump
of
spreading
fraud
claims
that
he
knew
to
be
false,
and
then
using
those
claims
as
the
basis
for
a
conspiracy
to
overturn
the
election
results.

Trump’s
defense
attorney
John
Lauro
argued
Wednesday
that
Trump’s
actions
were

aimed
to
“get
at
the
truth.”

But
Barr
said
on
CNN
on
Wednesday
night,
“At
first
I
wasn’t
sure,
but
I
have
come
to
believe
that
he
knew
well
that
he
had
lost
the
election.”

The
government
is
“going
to
have
to
prove
that
beyond
a
reasonable
doubt,”
he
said,
adding
that
that
is
a
“high
bar.”

But
Barr
also
said
he
believes
the
government
has
more
evidence
to
reveal.

“We’re
only
seeing
the
tip
of
the
iceberg
on
this
indictment,”
Barr
said.

—

Kevin
Breuninger

Workers
set
up
security
barricades
around
E.
Barrett
Prettyman
Courthouse
as
former
President
Donald
Trump
travels
to
the
nation’s
capital
city
for
his
arraignment
hearing.

The
4:00
p.m.arraignment
is
the
third
time
this
year
the
former
president
has
faced
criminal
charges.

—
Amanda
Macias