Donald Trump Set to Speak from Florida after Arraignment

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Waco Regional Airport, Saturday, March 25, 2023, in Waco, Texas. (AP)
Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Waco Regional Airport, Saturday, March 25, 2023, in Waco, Texas. (AP)
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Donald Trump Set to Speak from Florida after Arraignment

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Waco Regional Airport, Saturday, March 25, 2023, in Waco, Texas. (AP)
Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Waco Regional Airport, Saturday, March 25, 2023, in Waco, Texas. (AP)

Former US President Donald Trump will speak in Florida on Tuesday evening, his office said, after his arraignment in New York City on historic charges brought after an investigation into a 2016 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.

Trump is expected to be arraigned, fingerprinted and photographed in a New York courthouse on Tuesday afternoon as he becomes the first former president to face criminal charges.

Joe Tacopina, a Trump lawyer, told CNN's "State of the Union" program on Sunday that it was likely his defense attorneys will move to dismiss the charges, after they see them.

Word of the indictment surfaced on Thursday though the specific charges against Trump arising from an investigation led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, have not been made public. Susan Necheles, a Trump attorney, said on Friday Trump will plead not guilty.

Trump, who has launched a 2024 campaign to regain the presidency, 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 on Tuesday, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters last week.

The former president plans to return to Florida after the court appearance and will deliver remarks at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach at 8:15 p.m. (0015 GMT on Wednesday), his office said in a statement on Sunday.

The Trump campaign declined to comment on what he would say on Tuesday night. A source familiar with the matter said the Republican businessman-turned-politician was likely to focus on what he feels is his political persecution and "the political weaponization of the justice system to manipulate an election."

Trump is expected to appear on Tuesday before Justice Juan Merchan of the criminal court in Manhattan. Merchan also presided over a criminal trial last year in which Trump's real estate company was convicted of tax fraud, though Trump himself was not charged.

Trump has lashed out at both Bragg and Merchan.

"We're not doing anything at the arraignment because that would be showmanship and nothing more - because we haven't even seen the indictment," Tacopina said. "We will take the indictment, we will dissect it. The team will look at every, every potential issue that we will be able to challenge - and we will challenge."

"And of course I very much anticipate a motion to dismiss coming because there's no law that fits this," Tacopina added.

Ahead of the indictment, a grand jury in Manhattan heard evidence about a $130,000 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. Trump has denied that this encounter took place.

The former president's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, has said he coordinated with Trump on the payments to Daniels and to a second woman, former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Trump has denied having had sexual relationships with either woman, but has acknowledged reimbursing Cohen.

Cohen pleaded guilty to a campaign-finance violation in 2018 and served more than a year in prison. Federal prosecutors said he acted at Trump's direction.



Pakistan Warns it May Expel Thousands of Afghans Hoping for Resettlement in the West

Afghan refugees stand near tents before being deported to Afghanistan, in Chaman, Pakistan, 10 April 2025.  EPA/AKHTAR GULFAM
Afghan refugees stand near tents before being deported to Afghanistan, in Chaman, Pakistan, 10 April 2025. EPA/AKHTAR GULFAM
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Pakistan Warns it May Expel Thousands of Afghans Hoping for Resettlement in the West

Afghan refugees stand near tents before being deported to Afghanistan, in Chaman, Pakistan, 10 April 2025.  EPA/AKHTAR GULFAM
Afghan refugees stand near tents before being deported to Afghanistan, in Chaman, Pakistan, 10 April 2025. EPA/AKHTAR GULFAM

Pakistan said Thursday that thousands of Afghan migrants who have applied for resettlement in third countries could face forced expulsion if they are not relocated by host nations before the end of April.
Deputy Interior Minister Talal Chaudhry did not mention specific host countries, but his announcement follows the suspension of US refugee admissions programs that has left over 25,000 Afghan nationals facing uncertainty. Some of the Afghans also are trying to resettle in other Western countries, including the UK, The Associated Press reported.
Chaudhry said an April 30 deadline for resettlement of applicants has been communicated to potential host countries. He also said that any foreigners in the country illegally would be deported immediately, and that those who have obtained UN refugee status would be allowed to stay at least through June.
Many Afghans fled their country after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, fearing reprisals. Some had worked with the US military, international organizations, aid agencies, media outlets or human rights groups.
Thousands already have been relocated to the United States, with those who worked for the US military given a priority by the US government. Thousands more have been living in Pakistan while seeking relocation to the United States or other Western countries.
Chaudhry said thousands of Afghans have been sent back over the past week as part of expulsions that began in October 2023, when Pakistan launched a crackdown on foreigners living illegally in Pakistan. Since then, more than 850,000 Afghans had been repatriated.
He said an estimated 800,000 additional Afghan migrants are in the country illegally, and that 1.4 million are in Pakistan with UN refugee status.
Spokesman Shafqat Ali Khan at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told a news conference that the expulsions were not targeted specifically at Afghans and that any foreigners in the country illegally were being deported.
He also said Pakistan was engaged with UN agencies for the protection of people in vulnerable situations. “There is hardly any example of a country which has been more generous to refugees than Pakistan,” he said.