Washington (CNN) Former President Donald Trump said Saturday that he is expected to be arrested in the investigation Manhattan District Attorney He called for protests next week and as New York law enforcement prepares for possible indictment.
In a social media post, Trump, referring to himself, said, “The leading Republican candidate and former President of the United States will be arrested next week on Tuesday.”
“Resist, take back our nation,” he wrote.
CNN’s John Miller A week of meetings between city, state and federal law enforcement agencies in New York City is said to be underway on how to prepare for a possible indictment of Trump. Years of investigation In a hush money scheme involving adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
Any indictment against the former president, who is running for re-election in 2024, would quickly change the political conversation surrounding a historic first and an already divisive figure. Although Trump has an extensive history of civil lawsuits before and after taking office, a criminal indictment marks a dramatic increase in his legal woes as he works to recapture the White House.
While Trump has not provided any details on why he expects to be indicted, his legal team expects it to happen soon and is preparing behind the scenes for the next steps. The former president is expected to present himself in Manhattan following the formal allegations, and he has expressed his desire to make a speech, although it remains to be seen if he ultimately does.
A spokeswoman for Trump said Saturday that the former president had not received notification of any potential indictment from the Manhattan district attorney’s office, but that his post “correctly exemplifies his innocence.”
The Manhattan district attorney’s office declined to comment Saturday.
Trump has privately complained that he believes he is going to be indicted because he thinks Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Brock “hates him,” according to a source familiar with Trump’s statements.
The response to the arrest echoes his final days, when he repeatedly urged his supporters to reject the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Some of Trump’s advisers privately urged him not to call for the protests, concerned that the optics of a mass protest on the streets of Manhattan would be out of control or similar. January 6, 2021, an attack on the US capital.
Debates on how to navigate a possible criminal indictment by a New York County grand jury danced around the possibility of an unprecedented arrest of a former president of the United States. The New York Police Department did not immediately respond to CNN’s inquiry following Trump’s posts on Saturday.
Trump’s U.S. Secret Service profile will send him to the Manhattan district attorney’s office for fingerprints, then take mugshots at the offices of the district attorney’s detective team. As is customary in cases where a defendant is allowed to voluntarily surrender, after his arrest, the former president will be brought directly before a judge, where he will be released on his own recognizance.
Law enforcement officials privy to the discussions said several concerns were discussed in the planning process, including courthouse security and demonstrations or rallies by Trump supporters outside the courthouse or counterdemonstrations by anti-Trump protesters. The two groups clash.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
CNN’s Kristen Holmes contributed to this report.
