Donald Trump arrested: President Joe Biden paying 'little' attention to Republican's arraignment

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

Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, according to AFP, 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."

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

Trump turned himself in for a historic New York court hearing held amid tight security and a global media frenzy, as the Republican billionaire becomes the first American president in history to face criminal charges.

In a spectacle playing out on live television — with rival protesters rallying outside — the hearing marks a watershed moment for the US criminal and political system, with the potential to upend the 2024 White House race in which Trump is currently the presumptive Republican nominee.

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

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

Trump’s former lawyer and aide Michael Cohen, who has since 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.

Trump, whose third wife Melania had recently given birth at the time, denies the affair.

Legal experts have suggested that if not properly accounted for, the payment could result in charges for falsifying business records, possibly for the purpose of covering up a campaign finance violation.