Former US President Donald Trump poses during an event at a fire station following a train carrying hazardous waste, in East Palestine, Ohio, on February 22, 2023.
Alan Freed Reuters
Former President Donald Trump will surrender to face criminal charges if indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, his attorney said Friday afternoon.
The lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, said on the heels of a report by WNBC that Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies are preparing security arrangements for the possibility that Trump will be indicted as early as next week.
“It will follow normal procedures if it gets to that point,” Tacopina told CNBC when asked what Trump would do if that possibility became a reality.
Trump is being investigated by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for recording his company as a legal fee to reimburse ex-personal lawyer Michael Cohen with $130,000, he gave porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election to keep her silent about sexual allegations with Trump.
Trump has denied having a sexual relationship with Daniels, and has condemned the investigation and other criminal investigations he faces as a partisan witch hunt.
In this March 17, 2011 file photo, attorney Joseph Tacopina speaks to the media outside the Superior Court in New Haven, Conn.
Jessica Hill AP
Since the grand jury has been empaneled in recent months, and the possibility of an indictment has increased, the question is whether Trump will refuse to surrender if he is indicted, and what will happen if he does.
Trump, who has 24-hour protection by the US Secret Service, currently lives at the Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, which he rarely leaves.
Under Florida law, the state’s governor is responsible for making sure that people in the state are taken into custody and sent to another state if that person is charged with a crime.
However, Florida law also gives the governor the authority to request a preliminary investigation before the defendant is extradited if the defendant refuses to comply with extradition.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is currently a candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
Trump declared himself a candidate for the GOP nomination last fall.
Even before Trump and his allies had undermined DeSantis’ popularity among fellow Republicans.
Cohen, who met 20 times with investigators over the years, testified over two days earlier this week to a grand jury. Daniels spoke to prosecutors via Zoom on Wednesday.
Cohen previously pleaded guilty to federal criminal campaign charges related to payments to Daniels, which Trump said he made to avoid damaging his chances of winning the White House in 2016.
The crime is the hinge of what Trump could be charged with in state Criminal Court in Manhattan.
The company is prohibited by New York state law from misclassifying the nature of expenses, such as, in theory, calling reimbursement to Cohen for the payment of Daniels “legal expenses.”
Violating these laws can result in misdemeanor charges. But that can be raised to a crime if the misstatement is done to cover up another crime.