Donald Trump arraigned on 34 felony counts

@ap.news Former President Donald Trump sits at the defense table in a Manhattan court, Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in New York. Trump is appearing in court on charges related to falsifying business records in a hush money investigation, the first president ever to be charged with a crime. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, Pool)

NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. That’s according to two law enforcement officials familiar with the matter. The plea came during a brief arraignment Tuesday in a lower Manhattan courtroom as Trump faced a grand jury indictment arising from a hush money payment to a porn actor during Trump’s 2016 campaign. The two officials who confirmed the plea spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because prosecutors have not yet released the indictment publicly.