After Trump indictment, arraignment is next step in legal process

After Former President Donald Trump became the first president in U.S. history to face indictment on criminal charges, many may be wondering what’s next in the legal process. The next step is the arraignment, which an attorney for former President Trump said will likely happen Tuesday, April 4.

“The president will not be put in handcuffs,” Trump attorney Joe Tacopina said on ABC’s “Good Morning America” Friday, March 31. “As far as a mugshot’s concerned, perp walk, I mean as I said I’m sure they’ll try to make sure they get some joy out of this by parading him.”

The charges, announced Thursday, March 30, relate to a hush money payment Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. 

Trump reacted to the indictment on Truth Social, calling the charge “fake, corrupt, and disgraceful.” He said he cannot get a fair trial in New York. 

“The Judge ‘assigned’ to my Witch Hunt Case, a ‘Case’ that has NEVER BEEN CHARGED BEFORE, HATES ME,” Trump said Friday. “His name is Juan Manuel Marchan, was hand picked by Bragg & the Prosecutors, & is the same person who ‘railroaded’ my 75 year old former CFO, Allen Weisselberg, to take a ‘plea’ deal.”

Merchan is an acting justice on the New York State Supreme Court. As Trump alluded to, Merchan presided over the Trump Organization’s tax fraud trial.

Although it is known what is next in the legal process following the Trump indictment, little is known about what will come after arraignment due to the unprecedented nature of the case.

“It’s too early to speculate what type of sentence Trump would get if he were convicted by a New York jury,” former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani said Thursday. “The judge would likely base it on the evidence that was presented at trial, whether Trump testified or whether he perjured himself.”