The former US president called supporters to protest the possible arrest.
Former US President Donald Trump said he will be arrested on Tuesday (03/21) and called on his followers to protest in the streets.
The statement, made this Saturday (18/03), has not been confirmed by his lawyers, who stressed that they have not received any information from the authorities and that the speculations are based only on reports from some local media.
Federal prosecutors are working to find evidence of crimes Trump committed before and during his presidential term. According to several reports, a formal charge could be filed next week.
If this charge is actually filed, it would be the first time a criminal case has been brought against a former US president.
For the past five years, New York prosecutors have investigated allegations that Trump made illegal payments to former porn star Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 presidential election.
Daniels alleged that Michael Cohen, Trump’s attorney, paid her $130,000 in exchange for her not speaking publicly before the 2016 election about her extramarital affair with Trump.
The former president denied having a sexual relationship with Daniels and said the investigation was politically motivated.
This is one of the cases in which Trump, 76, is being investigated, although so far he has never been formally charged and has always denied having committed any crime.
presidential campaign
Trump has made it clear that he will continue his campaign to become the Republican Party’s nominee in the 2024 presidential election, even if he faces formal charges.
Past efforts to bring him to justice — including two impeachment attempts in Congress, an investigation into possible Russian intervention, and court operations at his home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida — have helped increase his popularity among his followers. So such an accusation could have a similar effect.
Although it is not possible to know if he will be officially indicted this week and for what possible crimes, the former president has decided to anticipate this possibility and has mobilized his followers.
Trump has already shown that he has a loyal following, as evidenced by the takeover of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, when hundreds of people stormed the government building to nullify the election results, where he had been defeated.
This Saturday, Trump wrote on his social network “Truth Social” that “illegal leaks” from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office in New York “would indicate” that he would be arrested on March 21.
The Manhattan District Attorney declined to comment on the matter. Trump’s attorney Sudan Necheles said his team was not briefed on the case.
“Because this is a political allegation, the DA’s office has made it a practice of leaking everything to the press, rather than contacting President Trump’s attorneys as they would in a normal case,” he said.
court cases
The Stormy Daniels case took a big step forward earlier this month when Trump was asked to testify before a grand jury, which experts say means he could soon face criminal charges.
The hearings are being held in secret and several former Trump advisers are said to have testified before the judges.
US media say New York judicial units are preparing for the possibility of Trump being indicted and appearing in a Manhattan court next week.
According to the Associated Press, local officials are weighing up the practicalities of taking a former president to court, including security concerns.
Another Trump attorney, Joseph Tacopina, told the news agency that “we will go through normal procedures” if he is indicted.
Donald Trump faces a separate criminal investigation into attempts to overturn his narrow defeat in the state of Georgia in the 2020 presidential election, although it is not known whether the former president is under direct investigation.
The US Justice Department is also investigating whether secret government documents found at his Mar-a-Lago residence were damaged after Trump left office, as well as broader efforts to undermine election results. presidential elections three years ago, including the January attack. 6.
– This text was published in https://www.bbc.com/english/articles/cx0nqxgwed0o
Source: Terra
