Trump pleads not guilty to 34 felony counts

Acting New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan wrote his Monday night order that the media’s request to broadcast the arraignment of former President Donald Trump was understandable, but that the news organizations’ interests in providing the broadest possible access to the proceedings must be weighed against “competing interests.”

In rejecting the request to broadcast the arraignment live on television, Merchan still wrote about the historical significance of the proceeding in stark terms. 

News outlets will not be allowed to broadcast former President Donald Trump's arraignment on Tuesday in a New York state court, a judge said Monday night, but he will allow some photographers to take pictures in the courtroom before the proceedings formally begin.

Acting New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan rejected the request by several media organizations, including CNN, for permission to broadcast the historic proceedings. Trump’s arraignment — like most arraignments in the Manhattan courthouse — is a public proceeding, but news cameras are not usually allowed to broadcast from inside the courtroom.

However, the judge is allowing five pool photographers to take still photos at the beginning of the proceedings “until such time as they are directed to vacate the jury box by court personnel.”

Earlier on Monday, Trump’s lawyers urged the judge to reject the media’s request for live cameras in the courtroom. The Manhattan District Attorney’s office told the judge they didn’t have a position. 

The media outlets that tried to get cameras into the courtroom argued that “the gravity of this proceeding … and, consequently, the need for the broadest possible public access, cannot be overstated.” 

Trump is now in Manhattan ahead of the arraignment. A grand jury indicted the former president last week.

The arraignment is also expected to bring the unsealing of the criminal charges against Trump, which have not yet been seen by his lawyers or the public.

The indictment stems from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation into hush-money payments, made during the 2016 presidential campaign, to women who claimed they had extramarital affairs with Trump, which he denies. 

Trump denies all wrongdoing and his lawyers said last week that they’ll fight to get the charges dropped. 

Donald Trump is not planning to speak publicly in New York on Tuesday, aides say, if he follows advice from members of his legal team who have urged the former President to refrain from the vitriol he’s been directing toward the prosecutor and judge presiding over the case.

But that restraint does not extend to Florida, aides said, where he is planning to deliver a full-throated defense of his New York case as well as other investigations he is facing during a prime time address from Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday night.

It’s the first test to see whether Trump can navigate two vasty different approaches to his legal case and his political campaign, which are now inextricably linked.

Alina Habba, lawyer for former President Donald Trump, gives an interview outside of Trump Tower on March 21 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Alina Habba, who represents Donald Trump in several civil matters, spent time with the former president in New York today and said, “He’s in good spirits. Honestly, he’s as he normally would be. He’s ready to go in and do what he needs to do tomorrow.”

Habba — appearing on on Fox News’ “Jesse Watters” — was asked about the “game plan” for Trump’s appearance in court in Manhattan Tuesday and said, “It’s all mapped out.”

She added, “Barring any surprises, I think that it should be smooth. We’re trying to coordinate and cooperate with everybody to make sure that there are no problems.”

On whether Trump can get a fair trial in Manhattan, Habba said, “No, no. I think it’s very difficult. I’d like to have faith in this state, but I’ve been practicing for him now for a couple years and gone to court in New York for a few years, and I can tell you, it’s not the same as representing anybody else."

From left to right: Susan Necheles, Todd Blanche and Joe Tacopina.  (Reuters/Getty Images)

Former President Donald Trump met with his attorneys Susan Necheles and Joe Tacopina at Trump Tower after arriving in New York City Monday, a source familiar with the meeting told CNN.

It is unclear if the newest addition to Trump’s New York legal team, Todd Blanche, attended the meeting.

Trump is expected to be arraigned Tuesday.

Former President Donald Trump has landed in New York's La Guardia Airport ahead of his expected Tuesday arraignment in a Manhattan courthouse.

History was made Thursday when he was indicted by a New York grand jury. It's the first time that a current or former US president has been criminally charged.

The Manhattan district attorney's office has been investigating Trump's alleged role in a hush money payment scheme and cover-up involving adult film star Stormy Daniels that dates to the 2016 presidential campaign.

Trump's attorney said he plans to file "substantial" legal challenges. The former president has repeatedly denied wrongdoing in the matter and accused Democrats of targeting him politically.

See more photos of the days leading up to Trump's indictment:

Former President Donald Trump waves to supporters upon arriving at Trump Tower in New York on Monday, April 3. Trump is in New York for an expected arraignment on Tuesday. (Yuki Iwamura/AP)

Trump's plane lands at LaGuardia Airport in New York on Monday, April 3. (Timothy Fadek for CNN)

Dan Ray waves an American flag as a plane carrying former President Donald Trump takes off from the Palm Beach International Airport in Florida on Monday, April 3. Trump was heading to New York for an expected arraignment on Tuesday.  (Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters)

A television news reporter from Spain is seen outside Trump Tower in New York on Monday, April 3. (Stephen Voss for CNN)

Trump supporters cheer as his motorcade passes by in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday, April 3.  (Wilfredo Lee/AP)

A supporter of former President Donald Trump holds a "Trump Won" sign outside of Trump Tower in New York on Monday, April 3.  (Alex Kent/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

A small group of supporters chanted as former President Donald Trump arrived at his namesake tower on Monday afternoon, with a handful of people waving banners with messages like “Trump won” and “Arrest Biden.”

While Trump couldn’t see his admirers as he entered a side door on 56th Street, his arrival came with more fanfare and security than at any other time in his post presidency.

Now that he is inside the building — where he launched his presidential bid nearly eight years ago — Trump is expected to meet with lawyers and political advisers on the eve of his arraignment, an aide told CNN. 

Trump's mood was described by an adviser as “defiant and focused,” as he watched expansive television coverage while flying back to his native New York City from Florida. 

Special counsel prosecutors have secured evidence including daily notes, texts, emails and photographs and are focused on cataloging how Donald Trump handled classified records around the Mar-a-Lago resort and those who may have witnessed the former president with them, according to multiple sources familiar with the investigation.

The new details come amid signs the Justice Department is taking steps that are typically near the end of an investigation.

The recent investigative activity before a federal grand jury in Washington, DC, also includes subpoenaing witnesses in March and April who had previously spoken to investigators, the sources said. While the FBI interviewed many aides and workers at Mar-a-Lago nearly a year ago voluntarily, grand jury appearances are transcribed and under oath — an indication the prosecutors are locking in witness testimony.

The focus of both the mishandling of records and obstruction of justice probes has remained on the actions of the former president, the sources say. That includes prosecutors pursuing evidence of Trump's intent to keep classified records after he left the White House, plus his knowledge that the records remained in his possession after the Justice Department demanded their return last May.

Witnesses are being questioned about what they saw in Trump's private residential and work areas within the club, some of the sources said.

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