A few dozen supporters of Trump attended a protest in the financial capital of the United States on Monday night as a grand jury weighs in on an investigation by the U.S. district attorney. Manhattan, Alvin Bragg, about the 2016 payment to Stormy Daniels.
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Trump would become the first former or sitting president to be charged with a crime if an indictment is filed — a move that would send shockwaves throughout the race for president. White House 2024, in which the 76-year-old is running to regain the position.
Bragg, an elected Democrat, has not confirmed any plans publicly but has put key witnesses before the jury in recent weeks and offered Trump the opportunity to testify.
Trump said over the weekend that he expects to be “arrested” on Tuesday and urged supporters to “protest, take our nation back!” although his lawyer said the comments were based on media reports and not any new action by prosecutors.
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Some US media outlets said the panel could vote to indict when it returns on Wednesday, after interviewing its final witness, lawyer Robert Costello, on Monday.
The NYPD prepared for an unprecedented arrest that would see a former United States leader fingerprinted and possibly even handcuffed, erecting barricades outside Bragg's office and Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue.
More than a dozen senior police officials met with aides to the mayor on Sunday to discuss security and contingency plans for protests, the New York Times reported.
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NBC News said police and other law enforcement agencies conducted "preliminary security assessments," including placing a security perimeter around the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse, where Trump would likely appear before a judge.
Senior Democrats have warned that Trump's calls could trigger a repeat of the violence his supporters unleashed at the US Capitol in January 2021.
In an online group called “The Donald,” some Trump supporters called for a “national strike” and “Civil War 2.0” to protect Trump and protest any arrests.
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But there was no indication of a large movement and Trump figureheads, such as his children and top commentators, did not openly call for action in the streets as they did after the 2020 election, when President Joe Biden defeated Trump.
A small protest organized by the New York Young Republican Club in lower Manhattan passed peacefully.
Trump's Many Legal Problems
Bragg's investigation focuses on $130.000 paid weeks before the 2016 election to prevent Daniels from going public with an affair she says she had with Trump years earlier.
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Former lawyer-turned-Trump nemesis Michael Cohen says he made the payment and was later reimbursed.
The payment to Daniels, if not properly accounted for, could result in a misdemeanor charge of falsifying business records.
This could be considered a crime if the false accounting was intended to cover up a second crime, such as a campaign finance violation.
Cohen testified before the grand jury last week, while Daniels is cooperating with prosecutors.
An indictment would begin a long process that could last several months as the case faces a mountain of legal questions and moves toward jury selection.
Trump denied having an affair with Daniels and criticized the investigation as a “witch hunt.” His vice president, Mike Pence, described the investigation as a “politically charged prosecution.”
Trump is facing multiple criminal investigations at the state and federal level into possible wrongdoing that threatens his new bid for the White House.
In Georgia, a prosecutor is investigating efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn his 2020 election defeat in the southern state. The grand jury in that case recommended several charges, the foreman revealed last month.
The former president is also the target of a federal investigation into his handling of confidential documents, as well as his possible involvement in the January 6 riots.
Some observers believe an indictment bodes ill for Trump's chances in 2024, while others say it could boost his support.
(With AFP)
