Former President of United States, Donald Trump appeared in a Manhattan court on Tuesday and surrendered to face criminal charges stemming from 2016 hush money payments to adult movie star Stormy Daniels. 

Reports have dubbed this as an extraordinary moment in US history, as Trump also becomes the first US president who faces criminal charges. The Republican party leader who had earlier announced his bid to run for the 2024 US Presidential elections faces multiple election-related investigations. 

‘The only crime I have committed is…’: Donald Trump

"This could happen in America. Never thought it could happen. The only crime that I have committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it. From the beginning, the Democrats spied on my campaign. Remember that? They attacked me with an onslaught of fraudulent investigations," former US President Donald Trump said.

‘Right now, I am in great spirits’: Donald Trump

“While we are living through the darkest hours of American history, I can say that at least for this moment right now, I am in great spirits," Donald Trump said. 

As he returned to his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, where he delivered a primetime address to hundreds of supporters, Trump lashed out anew at the prosecution and attacked in bitter terms the prosecutor and the judge presiding over the case despite being admonished hours earlier about incendiary rhetoric. In a sign of that other probes are weighing on him, Trump also steered his speech into a broadside against a separate Justice Department investigation into the mishandling of classified documents.

“I never thought anything like this could happen in America," Trump said of the New York indictment. “This fake case was brought only to interfere with the upcoming 2024 election and it should be dropped immediately."