Former US President Donald Trump was seen departing his Mar-a-Lago home to fly to New York ahead of his arraignment on criminal charges in the hush money case expected on Tuesday, Trend reports citing Metro.
Trump’s motorcade drove past the gate of his resort en route to Palm Beach International Airport in Florida, shortly after noon on Monday. About six black cars were seen driving out of the resort as well as continuing on a road. Trump will take his private jet, with his name marked across it, to New York City.
The ex-president is expected to land in LaGuardia Airport in Queens around 3pm, a source with knowledge on his travel plans told CNN. Trump plans to return to Florida immediately after his court appearance, the source said.
Trump, 76, on Sunday night wrote on his Truth Social platform: ‘I will be leaving Mar-a-Lago on Monday at 12 noon, heading to Trump Tower in New York.’
He added: ‘On Tuesday morning I will be going to, believe it or not, the Courthouse. America was not supposed to be this way!’
Trump is expected to surrender to law enforcement in lower Manhattan early this week. He will be the first ex-president in US history to face criminal charges.
He faces about 30 charges for his alleged role in a $130,000 payment his former lawyer Michael Cohen made to porn star Stormy Daniels to silence her claims of an affair with Trump. The exact charges are not yet known.
Trump’s lawyer Joe Tacopina said he did not know how Tuesday could unfold.
‘This is unprecedented. I don’t know. I’ve done a million arraignments in that courthouse with celebrities and whatnot. But this is a whole different thing. We have Secret Service involved,’ Tacopina told ABC News’ This Week anchor George Stephanopoulos.
‘I understand they’re closing the courthouse for the afternoon. I just don’t know what to expect to see.’
Tacopina said that more details around the arraignment will be figured out on Monday. The Secret Service will be involved, he said.
‘All the Tuesday stuff is still very much up in the air, other than the fact that we will very loudly and proudly say, “Not guilty,”‘ Tacopino said on CNN’s State of the Union.
‘Hopefully this will be as painless and classy as possible for a situation like this.’
New York investigators will book Trump and take his fingerprints. A mugshot is usually taken, but may not happen in Trump’s case as he is widely known and authorities are afraid that it could violate state law if it is leaked improperly, sources told CNN. Trump is not expected to be handcuffed.
The former president is not planning to stay in New York long, and is expected to jet back home to give a speech back at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday evening after his arraignment.
A Manhattan grand jury voted on Thursday to indict Trump.