Donald Trump indictment: Why is the former US president in court and what happens next?

4 April 2023, 14:19 | Updated: 4 April 2023, 20:12

Donald Trump has been indicted and appeared in court following his arraignment, but what happens to the former US president now?

Mr Trump, 76, appeared in a New York court on Tuesday afternoon local time to be arrested, indicted and respond formally to charges over hush money payment to Stormy Daniels, a porn star.

It came after a grand jury in the US voted to indict Mr Trump, after an investigation that has last for years. That means they believed there was enough evidence to charge him with a crime.

Mr Trump, who was the Republican president for one term that lasted until January 2021, travelled from Mar-a-Lago, his Florida home, to New York on Monday night.

The court house has been heavily secured amid concerns of violence and unrest by his supporters.

Read more: Day of the Don: New York braces ahead of historic Trump arrest

Read more: Donald Trump arrives in New York ahead of arraignment

Why did Donald Trump appear in court?

Mr Trump was charged over claims he paid $130,000 (about £104,000) to his former lawyer Michael Cohen, to pay him back for money he gave to Stormy Daniels.

Mr Cohen paid Ms Daniels in 2016 during Mr Trump's presidential campaign to stop her telling the media about an affair she allegedly had with the tycoon in 2006.

Paying someone to keep them quiet is not illegal. The problem arose because Mr Trump is accused of falsifying business records to hide the payment by saying it was for legal fees. The hush money could also break laws on payments during an election campaign.

Mr Trump denied the charges and said the affair never even took place.

What will Donald Trump be indicted with?

Mr Trump is facing 34 charges relating over the hush money claims.

His lawyer said that New York prosecutors had taken "a misdemeanor and tried, cobbled together, to make it a felony by alleging a violation of federal campaign violations".

What has Donald Trump said about the charges?

Donald Trump called the New York prosecutors "corrupt and highly political" and claimed they have "allowed new records to be set in violent crime & whose leader is funded by George Soros.

He said: "With no crime being able to be proven, & based on an old & fully debunked (by numerous other prosecutors!) fairytale, the far & away leading republican candidate & former president of the united states of America, will be arrested on Tuesday of next week.

"Protest, take our nation back!"

What happens next?

Mr Trump pleaded not guilty at the court. He is now set to be released and return home to Florida.

He is expected to address his supporters at 8.15pm local time.

He will then face a trial, which is likely to start in the next few months. No date has been set yet.

Could Donald Trump go to prison?

If he is found guilty, Mr Trump could face up to four years in prison.

But legal experts think this is unlikely, and he would be hit with a fine instead.

Is Donald Trump facing any other charges?

Mr Trump has been investigated twice by Congress when he was president, but was found not guilty both times.

He is also facing several other investigations, and charges could be brought in those cases in future.

Can Donald Trump still run for president?

Donald Trump is the front-runner for the Republican nomination ahead of the election next year.

There is nothing in the US constitution that would stop him continuing to run in the election if he is undergoing a trial.

Even in the unlikely case he goes to prison, there is nothing technically that would prevent him having a third tilt at the White House.

But a long legal fight is likely to divert time, money and attention away from Mr Trump's presidential campaign and could hurt his chances.