New Delhi: Former US President Donald Trump says he expects to be arrested on Tuesday in a case that involves him allegedly paying hush money to a porn star before the 2016 presidential election.
The former US President urged his supporters to launch mass protests, the media reported.
In a post on Truth Social, the former US President wrote that “illegal leaks” from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office indicate that he “will be arrested on Tuesday of next week”, Xinhua news agency reported.
“Take our nation back,” Trump said, issuing a call for his supporters to protest.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is reportedly investigating whether Trump falsified business records in connection with an alleged hush-money payment made to an adult film star during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump’s lawyer has said he has no plans to participate in the probe, and the Republican, who served as US president from January 2017 to January 2021, has denounced the investigation as a witch hunt.
The case in question is one of several cases in which the 76-year-old is currently being investigated, although he has not yet been charged in any and denies wrongdoing in each, the BBC reported.
The case progressed earlier this month when Trump was invited to testify to a grand jury, which experts said indicated he could soon face criminal charges.
His lawyer, however, said there had been no communication from law enforcement (regarding the arrest), and the former president’s post was based on media reports, the BBC reported.
The district attorney’s office has also not yet commented.
“Since this is a political prosecution, the district attorney’s office has engaged in a practice of leaking everything to the press, rather than communicating with Donald Trump’s attorneys as would be done in a normal case,” Trump’s lawyer Susan Necheles said, adding her team had not heard anything from law enforcement officials.
Prosecutors have been looking at a possible indictment of Trump with reports suggesting it could come next week.
If he is indicted, it would be the first criminal case ever brought against a former US president.
Trump has pledged to continue his campaign to become the Republican nominee in the 2024 presidential election, even if he is indicted.
