Natalia Chi
Donald Trump on Saturday at his arrest urgent and made a special call to his supporters as a New York grand jury to protest Investigate hush payment To the woman who claimed to have had a sexual encounter with the former president.
Trump declared in his post even though Trump’s attorney and spokesperson said he had not heard from the prosecution social media platform He is expected to be detained on Tuesday.
His message preempted a formal announcement from prosecutors and appeared designed to provoke the anger of his supporters ahead of the widely anticipated indictment. sent out fundraising emails to supporters, and influential Republicans in Congress issued statements defending him.
The 2024 presidential candidate did more than simply encourage his supporters to protest over his legal crisis, in a later post he directed blanket outrage in all caps at the Biden administration, raising the possibility of civil unrest. did: “It’s time!!!” he wrote. “We cannot allow any more. They are killing our country as we sit and watch. We must save America! Protest, protest, protest!!!”
It’s all in ominous ways, rhetoric he used a while ago Riots at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021After hearing from the then-president at a rally in Washington that morning, his supporters marched toward the Capitol in an attempt to block Congressional recognition of Democrat Joe Biden’s White House victory. , broke through the doors and windows of the building, beat the police and left them bloodied.
President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, has pleaded guilty to tax fraud charges and campaign finance charges stemming from hush money linked to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougall.
District Attorney Alvin Bragg Believed to be targeting charges in hush-money investigations, recently proposed A chance to testify before a grand jury against President TrumpLocal law enforcement officials are bracing for the public safety implications of unprecedented indictments against the former US president.
However, there was no official word on the timeframe for the grand jury’s secret work in the case. Additional witnesses are expected to testify, further indicating that a vote on the indictment has not yet taken place.
That’s because Trump has taken to his social media platforms to claim that an “illegal leak” from Bragg’s office is “a far-flung major Republican candidate, and that the former president of the United States will be arrested next Tuesday.” It shows
Susan Necheres, Trump’s attorney, said Trump’s post was “based on media reports,” but the sources Trump referred to on Tuesday were unclear.The District Attorney’s Office commented refused.
Trump’s aides and legal team are preparing potential indictments. In that case, you will only be arrested if you refuse to surrender. Trump’s attorneys have previously said Trump would follow normal procedures, meaning he would likely agree to appear in NYPD jurisdiction or in person at Bragg’s office.
It is unclear whether Trump’s supporters will heed his call to protest or retain the same persuasiveness he had as president. On Twitter, he’s gotten far less attention than he did before, but he’s maintained a very loyal base. The aftermath of the Jan. 6 riots, in which hundreds of Trump supporters were arrested and indicted in federal court, may also have dampened the passion among supporters for the confrontation.
The indictment of the 76-year-old Trump would be a surprising development after years of investigation into his business, politics and personal dealings.
Even as Trump pursues his latest White House campaign — his first rally is scheduled for Waco, Texas later this month, he’ll be competing at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was due to make a public appearance Saturday night — no doubt the indictment was a distraction, feeding dissenters and critics sick of the legal scandal that has wrapped him up for so long. give.
In addition to the hush-up investigation in New York, Trump faces separate criminal investigations in Atlanta and Washington over his efforts to undo the 2020 election results.
A Justice Department special counsel is also presenting evidence to a grand jury investigating that Trump had hundreds of classified documents in his Florida mansion. It’s not clear if it will lead to criminal charges, but the investigation will continue no matter what happens in New York, highlighting the continued seriousness and broad geographic reach of the legal challenges facing the former president. .
Trump’s Saturday post, last summer on Truth Social, read: The FBI was searching his Florida home As part of an investigation into possible mishandling of classified documents.
News of the raid sparked a flood of donations to Trump’s political campaign, and on Saturday, Trump sent his supporters a fundraising email stating that “MANHATTAN DA could be close to charging Trump.” I was.
After the post, Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy denounced the plan to indict Trump as “outrageous abuse of power by the radical DA,” which he claimed was seeking “political revenge.” Her House Republican No. 3 Rep. Elise Stefanik also released a statement showing similar sentiment.
The grand jury is hearing from witnesses including: Former Trump Attorney Michael CohenHe says he orchestrated payments to two women in 2016 to keep them silent about telling them they had a sexual relationship with Trump a decade earlier.
Trump denied having been contacted, said he had done nothing wrong, and called the investigation a “witch hunt” by Democratic prosecutors seeking to sabotage the Republican Party’s 2024 election campaign. Trump has also called Bragg, who is black, a “racist” and accused prosecutors of letting crime run wild in the city while he focused on Trump. One of the safest cities.
Bragg’s office appears to be investigating whether state law was violated in connection with the payments, or whether Trump’s company compensated Cohen for trying to silence the woman’s allegations.
Porn actor Stormy Daniels At least two former Trump aides — and former political adviser Kellyanne Conway Former spokesperson Hope Hicks — among the witnesses who have met with prosecutors in recent weeks.
Cohen said he arranged payments to Daniels and Playboy models totaling $280,000 at Trump’s direction Karen McDougallCohen said the payment was to buy silence about Trump, who was in the middle of his first presidential campaign at the time.
Cohen and federal prosecutors said Trump’s firm paid Daniels $420,000 to reimburse him $130,000 and to cover bonuses and other supposed expenses. was internally classified as litigation 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.
The news that law enforcement was gearing up for possible indictments was first reported by NBC News.
