As it happened: US going to hell, defiant Trump says after being charged

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We are soon going to bring our live coverage of the indictment against Donald Trump to a close.

But before we do, here's a quick recap of what happened.

On Tuesday, Trump became the first former US president to appear in court facing criminal charges.

He was charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records and pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.

After leaving the New York courthouse, he flew immediately back to Florida and met hundreds of supporters at his beachside residence of Mar-a-Lago.

There, he delivered a defiant speech, saying the case was "an insult to our country", said the country was "going to hell" and lashed out at the judge and prosecutors, claiming the case against him was politically-motivated.

The legal case against Donald Trump is unlikely to conclude for years, a former federal prosecutor has told the BBC.

Renato Mariotti said the case could continue until 2025 or later.

"And in terms of what the conclusion is going to be, I actually think that Donald Trump, by the time this case is concluded, will already face an indictment in one or more other cases."

Referring to the other active investigations Trump faces (see post at 9.18), Mariotti goes on to say: "I think that those other cases are also only going to draw more attention than this one because they’re going to be more difficult for him to handle and deal with."

Trump could face criminal charges in at least two other cases, including a special counsel probe into his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his handling of classified information after leaving office.

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During his Mar-a-Lago speech, Donald Trump launched personal attacks on New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who he said was out to get him "before he knew anything about me".

But who is Alvin Bragg?

Alvin Bragg made history in 2021 as the first black man elected as New York County District Attorney.

The veteran prosecutor took office at the start of 2022, having pledged to invest in alternatives to incarceration while ramping up white collar and public corruption prosecutions.

His campaign for DA focused heavily on his life and the desire for prosecutorial reform this had kindled. Born and raised in New York's Harlem neighbourhood during the 1980s crack cocaine epidemic, he has spoken of having police officers hold him up at gunpoint and encountering homicide victims at his doorstep.

• You can read our full profile on Bragg here.

The New York investigation into a payment made to buy the silence of ex-porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election is far from Donald Trump's only legal headache.

There are several other active investigations - here are the most high-profile:

Classified documents: The Department of Justice is looking into the removal of government documents from the White House, which were then taken to Trump's Florida estate after he left office. This is an active criminal investigation and could result in charges being filed.

Capitol riot: The department is also running a separate criminal probe into the 6 January riot and broader efforts to overturn the 2020 election result. Their investigation has already led to hundreds of people who stormed the Capitol being charged. In theory, Trump could be charged too.

Georgia: Prosecutors spent eight months looking into alleged attempts to overturn Trump's narrow loss in Georgia in 2020. A grand jury was dissolved earlier this year after filing a final report, which remains sealed. It's not known whether the former president is being directly investigated, but some of his closest allies definitely are.

You can read more here.

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Republican US Senator Mitt Romney, who is an outspoken critic of Donald Trump, has said the indictment against the former US president is politically motivated.

In a statement, Romney said Trump's character and conduct "make him unfit for office", but the New York prosecutor "has stretched to reach the felony criminal charges in order to fit a political agenda".

He said "no one is above the law," but "everyone is entitled to equal treatment under the law" and the prosecutor is setting a dangerous precedent for criminalising political opponents - which "damages the public's faith in our justice system".

Romney went on to say that American voters "will ultimately render their own judgment on the former president's political future".

The Utah senator voted against Trump in both his impeachment trials - the only one to vote in his first impeachment trial and one of seven Republicans to vote against Trump on his second impeachment trial.

Prof Richard Painter, former chief White House ethics lawyer between 2005 and 2007, and political analyst Eric Ham have been speaking to the BBC this morning about the case against Donald Trump.

Prof Painter explains: "It's perfectly legal in the United States to have sex with a porn star, and probably legal to pay her $130,000 to keep her mouth shut, but if you're running for president you have to disclose that as a campaign expenditure under federal law and he didn't do that."

Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 criminal charges related to business fraud during a New York court hearing yesterday.

Asked about the public's reaction to Trump presenting himself as a the victim of a witch-hunt, Ham says "the American public is not buying it, but Donald Trump's base certainly is, and so is the Republican Party".

Ham says Trump has used this to his benefit, claiming to have raised millions for his 2024 presidential campaign.

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The case against Donald Trump is focused on a payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels. However, the prosecutor also mentioned another woman.

According to background documents, a payment was made on Trump's behalf to "Woman 1" - who evidence suggests is Karen McDougal.

McDougal is an ex-Playboy model and, like Ms Daniels, claimed she had an affair with Trump.

She said it lasted 10 months. The former president denies it ever happened.

Born in Gary, Indiana, before moving to Michigan as a child, McDougal first began modelling in swimwear competitions in her 20s.

She joined Playboy where she went on to win Playmate of the Year in 1998 and was voted "Playmate of the 90s", second to actress Pamela Anderson.

You can read more about Karen McDougal here.

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Dr Thomas Gift, founding director of the Centre on US Politics at University College London, has told the BBC Tuesday's events represent a "new chapter" in US history.

"Whether you are for or against the prosecution, I think you do have to say it's a sad day to see a former president facing charges," he said.

These events have "tarnished" the reputation of the country abroad, he said.

On Trump's likelihood of being the forerunner for the Republicans, Gift says "a lot could happen" between now and the primaries and that it was "too early to speculate".

But he added that looking at the current polling numbers right now, it was hard to say whether anyone had "a better shot than Trump".

"There's no doubt that this is helping him in the short term," he added, explaining Trump claimed he had raised some $7m (£5.6m) in the last several days by appealing to his supporters.

The speech was short by Trump standards - less than half an hour - although it was fairly classic in that it was a long list of complaints and perceived grievances, many of which had frankly nothing to do with what happened in court in New York earlier that day.

When he was in court he said almost nothing. It was when he got back to Florida, in front of his supporters, that he had the opportunity to answer the charges. But he didn't: he said almost nothing about what his defence would be to the allegations of falsifying business records.

Instead, he rambled on about Hunter Biden's laptop, about how he believes the 2020 election was stolen, complaints about the FBI raiding his Mar-a-Lago home to seize classified documents.

There was very little sign of what his legal defence is going to be, apart from a bombastic display saying that his lawyers told him he's got nothing to worry about now that they've seen the charges.

In a possibly risky move, he also had a go at the presiding judge, calling him a "Trump-hating judge" and even attacking his daughter because she worked for vice-president Kamala Harris.

Speaking in Florida, the former US president said that the "only crime" he has committed was to "furiously defend" the nation from those who "seek to destroy it".

To cheers from the audience, Trump said that he was "attacked" with investigations about Russia, Ukraine, and impeachment "hoaxes". His supporters then booed when Trump talked about being indicted.

After his historic court appearance in New York, Trump flew straight back to Florida where he gave a defiant address to his supporters.

Here are some pictures from Trump's beachside residence of Mar-a-Lago:

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The cards were already on the table when Donald Trump made his way to court on Tuesday.

There were no charges of criminal conspiracy. There were no new crimes unearthed by the grand jury that remained hidden until the indictment was concealed. There was no expansive case.

The case is what we thought it was, even if some of the evidence - of what prosecutors allege was a pattern of election influence - was new.

This suggests the battle lines that had been forming over the past few days will only harden as the case proceeds toward trial.

Republicans, who had been fairly united in their defence of Trump since he posted on social media that an indictment was looming, will stay unified.

Even Utah Senator Mitt Romney, who voted to convict Trump in his two impeachment trials, released a statement saying that Bragg's "overreach sets a dangerous precedent for criminalising political opponents and damages the public's faith in our justice system".

Read more here.

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Here's a flavour of what Donald Trump said in his speech at his Mar-a-Lago residence last night (around 20:30 local time, 01:30 BST).

• The 2024 White House contender repeated many of his campaign points, arguing that he has been the victim of a Democratic conspiracy to jeopardise his re-election bid
• Trump began by denying his guilt and saying that his opponents "seek to destroy" the US
• He then falsely claimed that every single pundit and legal analyst said there is no case against him
• Trump reiterated personal attacks on Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg - whose office is prosecuting the case - and the family of the judge
• He also called for Bragg to be prosecuted, accusing him of leaking information

• "I have a Trump-hating judge from a Trump-hating family," he said, calling the court biased against him
• "Our country is going to hell," he said, listing all the ways that he claims to have been persecuted since launching his 2016 presidential campaign

Here are some of the key allegations from New York prosecutors. The ex-president has denied all of them.

• The main accusation against Trump is that he "repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal criminal conduct that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election"
• By identifying and suppressing harmful stories about him from going public before the election, Trump and others involved in the scheme "violated election laws and made and caused false entries in the business records of various entities in New York"
• The document adds that Trump and his allies "also took steps that mischaracterized, for tax purposes, the true nature of the payments"

Donald Trump was charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in a Manhattan criminal court.

Flanked by over a dozen court officers and secret service agents, Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The proceedings lasted nearly an hour. Prosecutors also mentioned Trump had made "threatening posts" on social media.

Judge Merchan gave Trump's lawyers until 8 August to file any motions - such as a potential motion to have the case struck out.

The charges against Trump are all Class E felonies - the lowest category of felony offence. They carry a maximum sentence of four years.

Good morning, and welcome as we continue live coverage following Trump's day in court.

If you're just joining us now, you missed Trump gathering with supporters in his Mar-a-Lago Florida home after that historic court appearance, which happened overnight UK time. He again slammed the case against him, and renewed his attack on the presiding judge.

This of course followed the spectacle of the ex-president flying out to New York to be formally arrested and hear the criminal charges against him. The charges relate to falsifying business records to protect his 2016 election run. He pleaded not guilty.

I'm here in London with my colleagues Malu Cursino and Laura Gozzi as we take over from our team in Singapore to bring you all the reaction, analysis and news lines.

In his remarks earlier, Donald Trump said the charges against him were a partisan attack, and he accused Justice Juan Merchan of bias.

"I have a Trump-hating judge with a Trump-hating family," Trump said in his response speech at Mar-a-Lago.

Last Friday, Trump had posted on social media that the judge "HATES ME". He offered no further explanation.

• Who is Justice Juan Merchan?

During the hearing, Justice Merchan had warned both sides to lay off any incendiary rhetoric. Prosecutors had raised that Trump's language had been inflammatory in the past week.

But the judge did not place any party under a gag order. A gag order would have prohibited Trump, his attorneys, other parties and witnesses from speaking about the case publicly.

It usually happens when there's a risk that statements could be made that could incite violence or be viewed as threatening to prosecutors or witnesses.

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Donald Trump’s next court date is not until December - which means he will be appearing as a criminal defendant just weeks before the Republican primary elections which determine who becomes the presidential candidate.

Will that be a problem for his campaign – or can he turn this prosecution to his electoral advantage?

In the days since it was announced he was to face criminal charges, his poll ratings have risen and his campaign claims to have raised over $10m.

So his strategy of claiming to be the victim of a politically- motivated legal witch hunt seems to be working – so far.

But Donald Trump is facing more legal investigations. He could yet be charged in the state of Georgia with trying to interfere with the results of the 2020 presidential elections. And in Washington DC a special counsel is looking at his role in the Jan 6th riots at the US capitol and the hundreds of classified documents found at his Florida home.

Even for a politician with as much bravado as Donald Trump, fighting a presidential election at the same time as one or more criminal court cases will be more than a little complicated.

Read more: What are the chances Trump could turn this prosecution into an election asset?

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Donald Trump, the first US president to face criminal charges, did not have his mugshot taken at the courthouse on Tuesday.

The Associated Press and the New York Times both cite sources saying Trump only had his fingerprints taken for the record.

His lawyers had earlier argued that mugshot would be unnecessary, saying their client was among the world's most recognisable faces.

However that hasn't stopped his re-election campaign from selling $47 t-shirts with a fake black-and-white mugshot.

On social media, fake mugshots have also begun to circulate.