Natalia Chi
NEW YORK — Donald Trump was arrested on Tuesday as New York prosecutors were charged with investigating hush money paid to a woman who claimed to have had sexual contact with the former president in a social media post. He said he expected
Trump provided no evidence to suggest he was directly informed of the pending arrests, nor did he say how he knew of any such plans.
But in a Saturday morning message on his Truth Social network, Trump pointed to an “illegal leak” from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, which he said was “a remote and major Republican candidate, and a former president of the United States. Arrested.” Next Tuesday. “
District Attorney’s Office Daniel Filson said prosecutors “refrained from confirming or commenting” on questions about Trump’s posts and potential indictment. did not respond.
The indictment of 76-year-old Trump would be a surprising development after years of investigation into his business, politics and personal dealings. , likely to inspire critics who say they cheated their way to the top and encourage supporters who feel Republicans are being unfairly targeted by Democratic prosecutors.
In social media posts, Trump repeated a lie that the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden, was stolen, telling his supporters to “protest and take back our country!” urged. The language evoked a message from the then president prior to the Jan. 6, 2021 riots at the U.S. Capitol. Supporters of the president at the time broke through the doors and windows of the building, leaving the rioting police behind. selection.
Law enforcement officials in New York are preparing security for possible prosecution of Trump.
There was no official word on the timeframe for a grand jury’s covert work in the case, including a potential vote on whether to indict the former president.
Trump’s post mirrors a post on Truth Social last summer when news broke that the FBI was searching his home as part of an investigation into possible mishandling of classified documents.
A grand jury in Manhattan is hearing from witnesses. Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen said in 2016 that she orchestrated payments to two women to silence them for saying she had a sexual relationship with Trump a decade ago.
Trump denied contact, said he had done nothing wrong, and called the investigation a “witch hunt” by Democratic prosecutors to try to sabotage the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential election.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office says whether state law was broken in relation to payments or whether Trump’s firm compensated Cohen for his work in trying to silence women’s allegations. They seem to be investigating what’s going on.
Daniels and at least two former Trump aides — former political adviser Kellyanne Conway and former spokesperson Hope Hicks — are among witnesses who have met with prosecutors in recent weeks.
Cohen said that at Trump’s direction, he arranged payments to porn actor Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougall totaling $280,000. It was meant to buy silence about Trump during the election.
Cohen and federal prosecutors said the company paid him $420,000 to reimburse him for his $130,000 payment to Daniels and cover bonuses and other supposed expenses. The company has classified these payments internally as legal costs. Her $150,000 payment to McDougal was made by the then publisher of the National Enquirer, a supermarket tabloid, so her story never came to light.
Federal prosecutors agreed not to prosecute Enquirer’s corporate parent in exchange for its cooperation in the campaign finance investigation that led to the indictment against Cohen in 2018.
Cohen pleaded guilty, served time, and was sentenced to prison. Federal prosecutors have never charged Trump with a crime.
AP writer Meg Kinnard of Columbia, South Carolina contributed to this report.
