Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Tuesday to 34 counts of falsifying business records, in the first-ever criminal arraignment of a former U.S. president.
Trump surrendered at a New York courthouse and then was arraigned on charges related to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's hush money payment probe. Trump exited the courthouse shortly before 3:30 p.m. ET and flew home to his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
Trump is not due back in court until December, according to NBC News.
He was indicted Thursday, and the charges were unsealed during the arraignment Tuesday. The 34 felony counts relate to his alleged role in a scheme that directed hush money payments to two women during the 2016 election.
Trump's former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen is known to have facilitated payments to two women in order to keep them silent about alleged affairs with Trump: former adult film star Stormy Daniels and ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal.
Trump appeared before acting New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan on Tuesday. Photos from the courtroom showed a deflated Trump sitting among his legal team.
The ex-president, meanwhile, plans to travel back to his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida after the hearing and deliver remarks there.
Trump denies the claim by Daniels, whose given name is Stephanie Clifford, that she had sex with him one time in 2006. He also denies wrongdoing related to the $130,000 payment Cohen gave her to keep quiet about the alleged tryst.