Donald Trump indictment LIVE | Trump will not accept plea deal

Hours after announcing that he will be interviewing Stormy Daniels, British news presenter said the interview was cancelled due to “security issues”.

“Unfortunately, Stormy Daniels has had to suddenly postpone our interview tonight due to some security issues that have arisen,” Morgan added. “Hope she’s OK.”

US Vice President Kamala Harris reportedly sidestepped a question regarding Donald Trump's indictment by the grand jury of Manhattan court. Harris was holding a joint conference with the president of Zambia when the question was posed. 

"I am not going to comment on an ongoing criminal case as it relates to the former president," Harris told the reporter.

According to various US media reports, Trump will not accept a plea deal in the indictment by the Manhattan grand jury. Instead, he plans to file 'legal challenges' to the indictment. 

“President Trump will not take a plea deal in this case. It's not gonna happen,” said Joe Tacopina, Trump's attorney. 

 New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan who indicted former US president Donald Trump was slammed by the Republican leader on his Truth Social platform. 

Claiming that Merchan hates him, Trump wrote, "His name is Juan Manuel Marchan, was hand picked by Bragg & the Prosecutors, & is the same person who 'railroaded' my 75 year old former CFO, Allen Weisselberg, to take a 'plea' deal."

Dozens of Donald Trump supporters are holding their ground outside the former US president's Florida Mar-a-Lago resort. Dismissing the criminal charges Trump faces as political, they say that the charges are not a "big deal."  

"Big deal. It happens all the time. I mean, there’s all kinds of skeletons in the closet in that Congress and senators. They all, they do it. They just haven’t been caught," said one Trump supporter, Florida resident Larry while talking to Reuters.

As House Republicans accuse district attorney Alvin Bragg of conducting a politically motivated prosecution and call for Bragg's testimony, former Vice President Mike Pence has cautioned them to "temper their inquiries."

Speaking to CNN, Pence said: "I'm somebody who believes in federalism, and as wrong as this DA is, I have a check in my spirit about the federal government becoming involved in even wrongheaded local law enforcement or prosecutions."

"And so I'd want our friends in the Congress to be judicious about that, careful about that. They can certainly ask questions, but at the end of the day, I think that this is a matter the American people see through, they see that politics is driving this decision." he added.

Trump's mention that he could face arrest in the near future, had last week prompted three House Republican leaders — House Judiciary chairperson Rep. Jim Jordan, House Oversight chairperson Rep. James Comer and House Administration chairperson Rep. Bryan Steil – to sign a letter demanding Bragg's testimony.

Jason Vaughn, a 39-year-old political consultant from Houston, said that Donald Trump can use the situation to his advantage.

Vaughn says that amid his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump "gets to play the martyr card, which is genius for him."

"If he’s smart, he’ll ask to be handcuffed and make sure he’s photographed," he added.

Stormy Daniels, the ex-porn star embroiled in the sex scandal behind Donald Trump's indictment, while talking to British newspaper The Times said the criminal charges show the former president is "no longer untouchable".

Calling the indictment "monumental and epic", she said "I'm proud."

However, she cautioned that the other side of the order is that it will continue to "divide people and bring them up in arms." 

"He's already gotten away with inciting a riot, and causing death and destruction," she added.

"Whatever the outcome is, it's going to cause violence, and there's going to be injuries and death," she warned.

Mike Pence, who was Donald J. Trump’s vice president, reacted on indictment of the former US president. While taking Trump's side he termed Trump’s indictment in a hush-money case as “an outrage.”

“The unprecedented indictment of a former president of the United States on a campaign finance issue is an outrage,” Mr. Pence told CNN.

Trump's lawyer Tacopina said he and his defence team were surprised by his indictment. "Initially we were all shocked. Didn't believe they were actually going to go through with this because there's no crime here." 
 

Former US President Donald Trump who is likely to appear before a New York court, will not be handcuffed when he surrenders to face criminal charges, as per his lawyer. 

Read more

Donald Trump is the first president to have been impeached twice and the first to be criminally indicted. 

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office acknowledged on March 31 that Trump’s lawyers had been notified of the indictment.

Legal experts cited by the USA Today said the charges could stem from the $130,000 payment former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen said he arranged from Trump to adult films' actress Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence before the 2016 election.