Former United States President Donald Trump says he expects to be “arrested” on Tuesday over hush‑money payments allegedly made to a porn star before the 2016 election, and he is calling on his supporters to protest. Citing a “leak” from the Manhattan district attorney’s office, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Saturday morning: “Leading Republican candidate & former President of the United States of America will be arrested on Tuesday of next week. Protest, take our nation back!”
The investigation centers on a $130,000 payment made weeks before the 2016 polls to silence Stormy Daniels—whose real name is Stephanie Clifford—from going public about an affair she says she had with Trump years earlier. Prosecutors are weighing whether to charge Trump, and speculation is rife that an indictment is likely. If the Manhattan district attorney were to indict him, the 76‑year‑old would become the first former president to be charged with a crime, a development that would upend his bid for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential election.
Trump’s lawyer told CNBC on Friday evening that his client would surrender to face criminal charges if a Manhattan grand jury indicted him. Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels and has dismissed the investigation as politically motivated. In his post, written in capital letters, he referred to “illegal leaks from a corrupt & highly political Manhattan district attorney’s office” and called the investigation “based on an old & fully debunked (by numerous other prosecutors!) fairy‑tale.”
Daniels met with prosecutors on Wednesday and, according to her lawyer Charles Brewster, “agreed to make herself available as a witness, or for further inquiry if needed.” Earlier this month, Trump was given the opportunity to testify before District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s team but is expected to decline to avoid potentially incriminating himself. Experts say the invitation is a sign that he will almost certainly be charged.
On Monday, Trump’s former lawyer‑turned‑foe Michael Cohen testified before a New York grand jury. Cohen said he made the payment to Daniels and was later reimbursed. If the payment was not properly accounted for, it could result in a misdemeanor charge for falsifying business records, which might be elevated to a felony if the false accounting was intended to conceal a second crime, such as a campaign‑finance violation, according to The New York Times.
Trump is facing several criminal probes at both state and federal levels over possible wrongdoing before, during, and after his first term in office, all of which threaten his new run for the White House. In Georgia, a prosecutor is investigating Trump and his allies’ efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss; the grand jury in that case has recommended multiple indictments, the forewoman revealed last month. He is also the subject of a federal probe into his handling of classified documents and his possible involvement in the January 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol.
AFP
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