Former US President Donald Trump said he believes he will be arrested on Tuesday as part of an investigation by the Manhattan (New York) district attorney’s office into his alleged illegal payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels . District Attorney Alvin Bragg is investigating the matter: a jury decision has been awaited for days on whether or not Trump will be indicted, but the exact times are not known.
According to what Trump wrote on his social network Truth, the judgment should come next Tuesday, and should be followed by his arrest. Speaking of himself in the third person, he said that “illegal leaks from the corrupt and politicized Manhattan District Attorney’s office […] indicate that the former US president will be arrested on Tuesday next week. Trump then urged his supporters to protest and “take back the country.”
Trump did not say he was notified of the impending indictment and did not provide more details about the leaks he referenced. The arrest would formally consist of fingerprinting and taking mugshots, but then Trump would be released pending the trial. There have been no confirmations or denials from the Manhattan District Attorney.
The accusation against Trump concerns a payment of 130 thousand dollars made in 2016 to the porn star Daniels, in exchange for a promise not to publicly reveal some information about a relationship that the two had had ten years earlier. That money was paid by former attorney and Trump aide Michael Cohen, later repaid by Trump. According to investigators, the reimbursement would have taken place using funds from Trump’s electoral committee, through an invoice for a false legal benefit.
