Donald Trump said in a social media post that he expects to be arrested Tuesday as a New York prosecutor is eyeing charges in a case examining hush money paid to women who alleged sexual encounters with the former president. Trump provided no evidence that suggested he was directly informed of a pending arrest and did not say how he knew of such plans.
But in a Saturday morning message on his Truth Social network, Trump noted “illegal leaks” from the Manhattan district attorney’s office that he said indicate “THE FAR & AWAY LEADING REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE & FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WILL BE ARRESTED ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK.”
Danielle Filson of the district attorney’s office said prosecutors “will decline to confirm or comment” on questions pertaining to Trump’s post, as well as potential charges. A Trump spokesman did not immediately respond to calls for comment.
The indictment of Trump, 76, would be an extraordinary development after years of investigations into his business, political and personal dealings. It is likely to galvanize critics who say Trump, a 2024 presidential candidate, lied and cheated his way to the top and to embolden supporters who feel the Republican is being unfairly targeted by a Democratic prosecutor.
In his social media post, Trump repeated his lies that the 2020 presidential election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden was stolen and he urged his followers to “PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!” That language evoked the message from the then-president that preceded the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 when his supporters broke through doors and windows of that building and left officers beaten and bloodied as they tried to stop the certification of the election.
Law enforcement officials in New York have been making security preparations for the possibility that Trump could be indicted.
There has been no public…
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