Donald Trump is due to be fingerprinted and photographed in a New York courthouse as he becomes the first former United States president to face criminal charges in a case involving a 2016 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Trump’s expected appearance before a judge in Manhattan on Tuesday, as the Republican mounts a bid to regain the presidency, could further inflame divisions in the US.
A New York judge in a document unsealed on Friday authorised Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, to make the charges public, but it was not clear when he would do so.
Trump plans to fly to New York on Monday from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and spend the night at Trump Tower before appearing in court early on Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Trump plans to return to Florida afterward, the source said.
For almost two weeks, Trump has been using the various 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 US president to try to overthrow an election defeat, inspiring the deadly 2021 assault on the US Capitol, has signalled he will continue to campaign even as he faces charges.
“I am not afraid of what’s to come,” Trump said in a fundraising email on Friday.
Biden, who defeated Trump in 2020, on Friday declined to comment on the indictment.
After word surfaced on Thursday that Trump had been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, he called himself “completely innocent” and a victim of political persecution.
The specific charges are not yet known, although CNN reported Trump faced more than 30 counts related to business fraud while the Associated Press reported the former president faced at least one felony charge.
Susan Necheles, a Trump lawyer, told Reuters he will plead not guilty.
She said she did not expect the charges to be unsealed until Tuesday.
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 said in a phone interview.
Any potential trial is still at least more than a year away, legal experts said, meaning it could occur during or after the presidential campaign.
Trump, 76, has accused Bragg of trying to damage his electoral chances.
His claims have been echoed by many of his fellow Republicans and his potential rivals in the race for the party’s presidential nomination.
Mike Pence, Trump’s former vice president and a possible 2024 candidate, said the charges send a “terrible message” to the world about US justice.
“I’m very troubled by it,” Pence said at a forum in Washington.
Ahead of the indictment, the grand jury heard evidence about a $US130,000 ($A194,465) payment to Daniels in the waning days of the 2016 presidential campaign.
Daniels has said she was paid to keep silent about a sexual encounter she had with Trump in 2006.
“It’s vindication,” Daniels told the Times of London.
“He’s done so much worse that he should have been taken down (for) before.”
Senior House of Representatives Republicans have vowed to investigate Bragg and demanded he hand over documents and other confidential material from the investigation.
Bragg said 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.
Aside from this case, Trump faces two federal criminal investigations into his efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat and his handling of classified documents after leaving office.
Trump also faces a separate Georgia investigation into his efforts to overturn his 2020 loss in that state.
By Karen Freifeld, Tyler Clifford and Nathan Layne in New York City
