NEW YORK, Apr 01 (APP): The United Nations Friday declined any comment on the indictment of former US President Donald Trump by a Manhattan grand jury after a probe into hush money paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels, becoming the first former American president to face criminal charges even as he makes another run for the White House.
“We’re obviously fully aware of what’s going on. It’s not that you can escape it by looking at the news here. At this point, in the process, we do not have a comment,” UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in response to a question at the regular noon briefing at UN Headquarters in New York.
Facing criminal charges, Trump was weighing his next steps on Friday as the unprecedented turn of events in American history drew sharply partisan responses from Democrats and Republicans and heralds a tumultuous stretch for a deeply divided nation.
Trump is expected to appear before a judge in Manhattan on Tuesday.
A New York judge on Friday authorized Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to make the charges public, but it was not clear when he would do so.
For nearly two weeks, Trump has been using the legal threats he confronts to raise money and rally supporters as he seeks his party’s nomination to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden next year.
The first U.S. president to try to overthrow an election defeat, inspiring the deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol, has signaled he will continue to campaign even as he faces charges.
“I am not afraid of what’s to come,” he said in a fundraising email on Friday.
The specific charges are not yet known, though CNN reported that Trump faced more than 30 counts related to business fraud.
Susan Necheles, a Trump attorney, told British news agency Reuters tat the former president will plead not guilty.
Another Trump lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, said Trump will not have to wear handcuffs at his court appearance and will likely be released without having to post bail.
“He’s ready to fight. He’s gearing up,” Tacopina was quoted as saying.
Trump, 76, said on Thursday that he was “completely innocent” and accused Bragg, a Democrat, of trying to damage his electoral chances.
Trump’s claims of political interference have been echoed by many of his fellow Republicans and his potential rivals in the 2024 race.
Mike Pence, Trump’s former vice president, said the charges send a “terrible message” to the world about U.S. justice.
“I’m very troubled by it,” Pence, a possible 2024 candidate, said at a forum in Washington.
Senior Republicans in the House of Representatives have vowed to investigate Bragg and demanded he hand over documents and other confidential material from the investigation.
Bragg said on Friday that Congress does not have authority to interfere with a New York legal proceeding and accused the lawmakers of escalating political tensions. Bragg’s office has been the target of bomb threats in recent weeks.
“You and many of your colleagues have chosen to collaborate with Mr. Trump’s efforts to vilify and denigrate the integrity of elected state prosecutors and trial judges,” Bragg wrote in a letter to Republican lawmakers.
Biden declined to comment on Friday as he left the White House for a trip to storm-ravaged Mississippi.
Trump alleges there are political motivations behind all four criminal investigations he is known to face – including federal probes into his retention of classified documents and attempts to overturn his election defeat, and a separate Georgia probe into his efforts to overturn his loss in that state.
He has also accused Bragg, who is Black, of racial bias.
Officials have stepped up security around the courthouse since Trump on March 18 called on his supporters to protest any arrest. A law enforcement source said police would close streets around the courthouse ahead of Tuesday’s expected appearance.