Former President Donald Trump has been accused By a New York City grand jury, he was the first former president to be indicted for the crime.
The Manhattan district attorney is investigating Trump for allegedly falsifying business records in connection with “hush money” payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Although the charges against Trump are sealed They will be unsealed in the future.
In light of the unprecedented moment, many are wondering what the coming days and weeks will look like as the charges or indictments are unsealed and Trump surrenders himself. According to Trump’s legal team, that is likely to happen next week.
CBS News legal analyst Ricky Kleiman told CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell that Trump will experience normal steps like being fingerprinted, photographed for a facial shot and appearing in court, but “not the way it usually happens.”
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“Donald Trump will also surrender by arrangement with the district attorney’s office, and he will be surrounded by his Secret Service agents as always, because he is entitled to that protection as a former president,” Kleiman said, comparing Trump’s surrender to white-collar criminal defendants. People who usually have more control over their surrender.
“Yes, he’ll be processed. He’ll have a face picture. He’ll get a booking number. He’ll be fingerprinted … and ultimately it’s up to the police, in this case the NYPD, to handcuff him or not,” Kleiman continued. If he’s with Secret Service people, he doesn’t need to be handcuffed to appear in court.”
Richard Esposito, a former NYPD deputy commissioner and a CBS News consultant, said some aspects of the surrender may vary depending on the level of the accused.
“Because it’s a president, they could conceivably change any number of things,” Esposito said.
One part that will likely differ, Esposito said, is the speed with which Trump is indicted after being fingerprinted.
“When a normal person is fingerprinted and photographed and booked, the fingerprints go to Albany where we have millions of fingerprints in our database and they’re compared to the database to make sure the person has no prior crimes, other He’s not wanted for any crimes. Things we’re not aware of, etc.,” Esposito explained. “With a former president, that process, which would normally take a few more hours, would probably be incredibly quick.”
Once the fingerprinting comparison is complete, Trump will be indicted, Esposito said. Usually, accused persons are sentenced in open court. Esposito said that if that happened in this case, the Secret Service would likely install additional metal detectors before allowing people into the courtroom.
After the sentencing, Trump and his security team will decide how he will leave the courtroom, Esposito said. He can choose to leave through a back door or walk up the front steps of the courthouse. If he makes more public appearances, Esposito said the site will have barricades and extra security.
“It’s his right to go out as he wants within the confines of the Secret Service,” Esposito said.
New York Police Department officers have been ordered to be in full uniform and ready to deploy on Friday. A law enforcement source told CBS News’ Pat Milton that the NYPD was not given advance warning of the grand jury vote.