Trump says he expects to be arrested on Tuesday, calls for protests

Former US President Donald Trump said he expected to be arrested on Tuesday in a case brought by the Manhattan district attorney’s office, and called on his supporters to protest, according to a post on Truth Social on Saturday.

A spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office declined to comment.

Trump said, without providing evidence, that “illegal leaks” from the Manhattan district attorney’s office indicated he would be arrested. He didn’t tell me what he was going to do.

“Illegal leaks from the corrupt and highly politicized Manhattan district attorney’s office … show that, with no proven crime … on Tuesday next week,” Trump wrote.

“Protest, take our nation back!” Trump said.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office earlier this year began presenting evidence to a grand jury investigating a $130,000 payment that Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal lawyer and fixer, made to porn star Stormy Daniels in the days of Trump’s 2016 campaign.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, said she had an affair with Trump a decade ago. Trump denied the incident.

Trump was the Republican president from 2017 to 2021 and has said he will seek to return to the White House in the 2024 US presidential election.

Bragg’s office earlier this month subpoenaed Trump to testify before a grand jury investigating the hush money payments, according to Trump’s attorney, Susan Necheles. Legal experts say this is a sign that an indictment is imminent.

Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to federal campaign finance violations linked to arranging payments to Daniels and another woman, among other crimes. He said Trump directed him to pay. The US Attorney’s office in Manhattan has not charged Trump with a crime.

Cohen testified before a grand jury on Friday and again on Wednesday, according to his attorney, Lanny Davis. Grand jury proceedings are unusual.

Daniels’ attorney said he spoke with prosecutors last week.

Trump is facing an investigation

The investigation is one of several legal issues facing Trump as he seeks the Republican nomination for president.

Trump also faces a state-level criminal investigation in Georgia over efforts to overturn the state’s 2020 results.

A special counsel named by US Attorney General Merrick Garland is currently investigating Trump’s handling of secret government documents after leaving office, as well as efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which he lost to President Joe Biden, a Democrat.

Bragg’s office last year won the conviction of the Trump Organization on tax fraud charges. But Bragg dismissed Trump’s own allegations of financial crimes related to his business practices, prompting two prosecutors working on the investigation to resign.

Trump is leading the early race for the party’s nomination, holding the support of 43 percent of Republicans in a February Reuters/Ipsos poll, compared to 31 percent for his closest rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has not yet announced his candidacy.