Trump court appearance 'not a focus' for Biden: White House

President Joe Biden was paying little attention Tuesday to the arraignment of his predecessor Donald Trump in New York on criminal charges, the White House said.

"Obviously he will catch part of the news when he has a moment to catch up on news of the day but this is not a focus for him," Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

The sole public event on Biden's schedule Tuesday was a meeting with advisors on emerging artificial intelligence technology.

Trump pleads not guilty

Later in the day, Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, as the Republican billionaire became the first-ever sitting or former American president to face criminal charges.

More from World

Trump was indicted last week by a grand jury in the case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, an elected Democrat, according to an AFP report.

The charges revolve around the investigation of $130,000 hush money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels just days before Trump’s election win.

Trump’s former lawyer and aide Michael Cohen, who has turned against his ex-boss, says he arranged the payment to Daniels in exchange for her silence about a tryst she says she had with Trump in 2006.

With inputs from agencies

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