Photo: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images
Former US President Donald Trump stated that he anticipates being arrested this Tuesday and called on his supporters to mobilize in the streets.
The statement, made public this Saturday, was not confirmed by his lawyers, who pointed out that they had not received information from the judicial authorities and that the speculations are only based on reports from some local media.
Federal prosecutors are working to find evidence of crimes committed by Trump before and during his term as president. According to various reports, an indictment could be finalized next week.
If the accusation is indeed presented, it would be the first time that a criminal case has been brought against a former US president.
For the past five years, prosecutors in New York state have been investigating allegations of payments ex-porn star Stormy Daniels illegally on Trump’s behalf shortly before the 2016 presidential election.
Daniels has pointed out that Michael Cohen, Trump’s lawyer, paid him $130,000 in exchange for not speaking in public before the 2016 elections about the extramarital affair he had with the former president.
Trump has denied having sexual relations with Daniels and He has pointed out that the investigation is politically motivated.
This is one of the cases for which Trump, 76, is being investigated, although he has never been formally charged so far 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 for the 2024 presidential election, iEven if he is charged.
Previous efforts to bring him to justice – including two congressional impeachments, the investigation into Russian intervention, and raids on his Mar-a-Lago, Florida home – have helped boost his popularity among his followers, so an accusation of this type could have a similar effect.
In this sense, although it is officially unknown if he will be charged this week and what would be the crimes for which they would be held responsible, the former president has begun to predict the possible arrest and has called for the mobilization of his followers this Tuesday.
Trump has already shown that he has a loyal following, as evidenced by the January 6, 2021 takeover of the Capitol, when hundreds of people forced their way into the government building to have the results of the elections annulled. elections of the previous year, where Trump had been defeated.
This Saturday, Trump wrote on the social network of his property “Truth Social” that “illegal leaks” from the Manhattan, New York district attorney’s office “would indicate” that he would be arrested on March 21.
The Manhattan prosecutor’s office has not ruled on the matter. For her part, Trump’s attorney, Sudan Necheles, said her team has not been notified of this matter.
“Since this is a political indictment, the district attorney’s office has engaged in the practice of leaking everything to the press, rather than contacting President Trump’s lawyers as they would in a normal case,” he said.
court cases
The Stormy Daniels case made a breakthrough earlier this month when Trump was invited to testify before a grand jury, which experts say indicated he could soon face criminal charges.
The hearings are held in secret, and several former Trump aides have reportedly given testimony before the judges.
US media say law enforcement agencies in New York are preparing for the possibility that Trump will be indicted and appear in a Manhattan court next week.
According to the Associated Press, they are considering the practicalities of taking a former president to court, including security issues.
Another Trump lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, told the news outlet that “we will follow normal procedures” if he is charged.
Donald Trump faces a separate criminal investigation into attempts to overturn his narrow defeat in the state of Georgia in the 2020 presidential election, though it is not known whether the former president is under direct investigation.
The US Department of Justice is also looking into whether classified government documents found at his Mar-a-Lago residence were mishandled after Trump left office, as well as broader efforts to undermine the results. of the presidential elections three years ago, including the attack on January 6.
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