(NewsNation) — Former U.S. President Donald Trump claimed he will be arrested on Tuesday as a New York grand jury probes alleged hush money payments he made to women who said they had sexual encounters with him.
Trump encouraged his supporters to “protest” this move.
“ILLEGAL LEAKS FROM A CORRUPT & HIGHLY POLITICAL MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEYS OFFICE” signal the upcoming arrest, Trump said on Truth Social Saturday. “THE FAR & AWAY LEADING REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE & FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WILL BE ARRESTED ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK.”
However, Trump did not give any other proof of this, and his campaign communications director, Steven Cheung, told NewsNation there has been “no notification,” other than leaks to media outlets, that the previous president’s arrest is imminent. Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina also said, in a text to NewsNation, that he was “not aware” of anything happening Tuesday.
Later on Saturday, though, Trump once again took to Truth Social and told people to “protest, protest, protest.” Before that, he asked for contributions to his 2024 presidential campaign in a separate post.
Repeating lies about a stolen 2020 presidential election, Trump used language that evoked his message preceding the Jan. 6 riot, when his supporters broke through the doors and windows of the U.S. Capitol building, and left officers beaten and bloodied.
New York law enforcement officials have been making security preparations for the possibility Trump is, indeed, indicted.
Law enforcement sources familiar to NewsNation said while there has not been a formal notification to them about plans to go to New York, the U.S. Secret Service (USS) has studied NYC’s criminal code.
Sources said if this is a felony arrest warrant, which is nonviolent, a summons would likely be issued, and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg would likely negotiate the terms of Trump’s surrender with his attorneys.
The USS said in an official statement, though, that to “maintain the highest levels of integrity for our operations” it is not able to comment on specific protection plans.
Earlier this week, Trump was invited to testify before a Manhattan grand jury in connection with allegations that he paid Stormy Daniels, an adult film actress, to keep quiet about an affair she had with him.
Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, who ultimately made the payments, also testified.
Bragg’s office, which declined to comment, has been examining whether any state laws were broken in connection with the payments.
Before the 2016 election, Cohen allegedly paid Daniels $130,000. Although Trump acknowledged paying Cohen a “monthly retainer” as part of an agreement to “stop the extortionist accusations made by Daniels,” Trump denied having an affair with her.
Cohen, also in 2016, arranged a $150,000 payment via the publisher of the National Enquirer to former Playboy model Karen McDougal in order to quash a story about a separate alleged affair with Trump.
Prosecutors say these payments amounted to illegal, unreported assistance to Trump’s campaign and accused his company of inflating Cohen’s reimbursement for tax purposes.
Cohen pleaded guilty to violating federal campaign finance law in connection with the payments. Trump has not faced charges.
If an indictment does happen, Trump would become the first former president ever to face criminal charges.
There has been no public announcement of any time frame for the grand jury’s secret work in the case, including any potential vote on whether to indict the ex-president.
Still, Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) tweeted that Trump’s potential arrest is an “outrageous” abuse of power by Briggs, who he called “radical.”
“I’m directing relevant committees to immediately investigate if federal funds are being used to subvert our democracy by interfering in elections with politically motivated prosecutions,” he said.
McCarthy’s predecessor, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, (D-Calif.) put out her own statement, saying that whatever the grand jury decides, the fact that it is considering this case “makes clear: no one is above the law, not even a former President of the United States.”
“The former president’s announcement this morning is reckless: doing so to keep himself in the news and to foment unrest among his supporters,” Pelosi said. “He cannot hide from his violations of the law, disrespect for our elections and incitements to violence.”
Former Vice President Mike Pence spoke out in defense of Trump on SiriusXM’s Breitbart News, saying he was taken aback and accused Bragg of carrying out “political prosecution.”
“Well, like many Americans, I’m just, I’m taken aback,” Mr. Pence said. “You have literally a Democratic party that’s literally dismantled the criminal justice system in that city, undercut the NYPD, and this is what the Manhattan DA says is their top priority?”
“It reeks of the kind of political prosecution that we endured back in the days of the Russia hoax and the whole impeachment over a phone call,” Pence added.
The Associated Press, NewsNation’s Len Tepper and Andrew Dorn contributed to this report.
This story is developing. Refresh for updates.