Trump indictment live updates: Trump pleads not guilty to 34 felony counts

Former President Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, according to a source in the courtroom, after being indicted by a Manhattan grand jury last week.

MORE: Trump indictment: What happens next

He is the first former U.S. president to be indicted.

For previous coverage, please click here.

Latest Developments

Apr 4, 5:57 PM

Legal experts weigh in on indictment and statement of facts

ABC News asked legal experts their thoughts on the indictment and statement of facts document unsealed Tuesday in the Manhattan district attorney's case against former President Donald Trump.

According to Lance Fletcher, a former assistant district attorney at the Manhattan DA's Office, the indictment "discusses an intent to defraud, and an intent to commit another crime, but does not specify what that other crime is."

"This is an important issue because the intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime is what bumps this up from a misdemeanor to a felony," Fletcher continued.

The timing of meetings and payments relative to the 2016 election is also important "because it indirectly argues purpose was campaign-related and not for Trump's personal reasons (such as keeping his marriage together)," Fletcher said.

MORE: Prosecutors detail Trump's alleged hush money 'scheme' to influence 2016 election

Marc Scholl, who was a prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney's Office for nearly 40 years and is now in private practice with the New York-based firm Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss, called the statement of facts document "an oddity."

"Why it was not part of the indictment as a conspiracy count is odd, but I guess the DA didn't want to have a misdemeanor," Scholl said, adding that statements of facts like this "are not commonplace."

Scholl noted that the district attorney doesn't need to prove anything that's said in the statement of facts -- just what’s in the indictment.

Michael Bachner, a former assistant district attorney in the Rackets Bureau of the Manhattan DA's Office, said the only surprise in the indictment was "it being expanded to include [former Playboy model Karen] McDougal."

"The theory of the prosecution is exactly as we expected and that is that there was a scheme to bury stories through this catch-and-kill process in order to help Donald Trump get elected, and that these payments were in the campaign contributions which were improperly buried," Bachner continued.

MORE: The Manhattan DA's investigation into Trump and the Stormy Daniels hush payment, explained

As far as next steps, Trump's attorneys are now "obviously going to file some very significant motions to dismiss the indictment," including by citing statute of limitations, and the theory "that there was no effort to interfere with an election," Bachner said.

"This was all payments made for personal purposes. However, given the timing of the payment is right after the Access Hollywood story, I think the judge is going to let this indictment stand," Bachner said.

-ABC News' Soo Rin Kim and Mike Levine

Apr 4, 5:28 PM

The moment Trump denied knowing about payment to Stormy Daniels

With former President Donald Trump being arraigned on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to Stormy Daniels -- to which he pleaded not guilty -- comes the reminder of when Trump first broke his silence about the adult film star.

It was on April 5, 2018, when Trump walked back to where reporters were seated on Air Force One and denied, when questioned, that he knew about a reported $130,000 hush money payment made by his then-lawyer Michael Cohen to Daniels.

Read more about the exchange here.

-ABC News' Libby Cathey

Apr 4, 5:12 PM

Trump's attorneys address indictment

In Trump's attorneys' first public comments following Tuesday's arraignment, Todd Blanche said "there were no surprises" in the indictment and that they "plan to fight it hard."

Trump is "upset and frustrated and disappointed and mad that this happened," Blanche told reporters outside the Manhattan courthouse.

Joe Tacopina, another Trump attorney, called the case insufficient and said the unsealing of the indictment "shows that the rule of law died in this country."

"While everyone is not above the law, no one's below it either," Tacopina said. "And if this man's name was not Donald J. Trump, there is no scenario we'd all be here today."

Apr 4, 4:47 PM

Prosecution claims conflict of interest with Trump attorney

Prosecutors alleged during Tuesday's hearing that one of former President Donald Trump's attorneys, Joe Tacopina, has a conflict of interest in the case because of prior communications with Stormy Daniels.

Tacopina pushed back on that aggressively, telling Judge Juan Merchan that he "never met, never spoke" with Daniels, and said that an associate from his office did send Daniels a document and held preliminary conversations with her.

Trump said "yes," when the judge asked him if he understood he had a right to conflict-free counsel.

Judge Merchan did not make any decision on this today.

-ABC News' Olivia Rubin and Laura Romero

Apr 4, 4:24 PM

Trump en route to Florida

Donald Trump's plane left New York Tuesday afternoon to head back to Florida where the former president is expected to address the public from Mar-a-Lago Tuesday night.

Apr 4, 6:03 PM

Bragg: 'We cannot and will not normalize serious criminal conduct'

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg claimed former President Donald Trump "repeatedly made false statements" on New York business records and made others do the same during a press briefing following Tuesday's arraignment.

"These are felony crimes in New York state, no matter who you are," Bragg said. "We cannot and will not normalize serious criminal conduct.

Bragg said the case, "like so many of our white-collar cases," alleges that "someone lied again and again to protect their interests and evade the laws to which we are all held accountable."

Bragg claimed Trump and his associates attempted to withhold negative information about him in a “catch-and-kill scheme” meant to bolster his candidacy for president.

"The evidence will show that Trump lied … to cover up crimes related to the 2016 presidential election," Bragg said.

The payments to Michael Cohen were meant to "hide damaging information from the voting public," he added.

When asked why his office was pursuing the case now, Bragg said there is more evidence in hand than his predecessor had.

Apr 4, 4:18 PM

Dispute over possible trial date

Prosecutors asked for a trial date in January 2024.

Donald Trump’s legal team called that timeline “too aggressive” and suggested spring 2024 as an alternative.

Judge Juan Merchan did not weigh in.

Trump's next in-person court appearance is set for Dec. 4. The defense counsel asked the judge to waive Trump’s appearance.

The judge acknowledged that Tuesday's hearing was a “huge undertaking,” but said he would not immediately excuse Trump’s appearance, and said he would deny for the time being the defense counsel’s request “in the interest of transparency.”

-ABC News' Olivia Rubin and Laura Romero

Apr 4, 4:02 PM

Indictment unsealed

The indictment against former President Donald Trump has been unsealed.

Donald J. Trump Indictment by ABC News Politics

Prosecutors allege Trump "employed a 'catch and kill' scheme to identify, purchase, and bury negative information about him and boost his electoral prospects," and "went to great lengths to hide this conduct, causing dozens of false entries in business records to conceal criminal activity, including attempts to violate state and federal election laws."

Prosecutors allege, "In one instance, American Media Inc. ('AMI'), paid $30,000 to a former Trump Tower doorman, who claimed to have a story about a child TRUMP had out of wedlock," though the story wasn't true.

"The People of the State of New York allege that Donald J. Trump repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal crimes that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement. "The trail of money and lies exposes a pattern that, the People allege, violates one of New York’s basic and fundamental business laws."

Apr 4, 3:29 PM

Trump leaves courtroom

Former President Donald Trump left the courtroom at 3:25 p.m., nearly one hour after entering the room at 2:28 p.m.

Apr 4, 4:17 PM

Trump pleads not guilty to 34 felony counts

Former President Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, according to a source in the courtroom. Trump entered the not guilty plea himself, sources said.

Trump waited in the courtroom for at least five minutes before Judge Juan Merchan arrived, and rose when the judge said, “all rise.”

“Let’s arraign Mr. Trump, please," Merchan said.

Trump spoke quietly when he addressed the judge, including when he entered his not guilty plea.

Prosecutors asked for a protective order on the discovery materials, which would prevent Trump from disseminating those records.

Todd Blanche, Trump’s new defense attorney, at one point said, “I didn’t realize we were going to be giving opening statements.”

Blanche said Trump was “frustrated” and “upset” and had a right to express his views publicly.

The judge said he was not going to enact a gag order.

-ABC News' Katherine Faulders, Olivia Rubin, Laura Romero and John Santucci

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