Trump, who plans to run for the White House again in 2024, pointed to “leaks” from the Manhattan Attorney General’s Office and wrote in capital letters on his social network Truth Social: “Premier Republican nominee and former president of the United States. on Tuesday he will be arrested next week. Protest, take our nation back!”
Rumors have circulated in recent days that a potential criminal charge against Trump will be filed by a grand jury in an investigation led by New York state attorney Alvin Bragg, a judge elected by the Democratic Party.
In the United States, prosecutors can present witnesses and evidence before a panel of citizens, known as a grand jury, which then decides whether to answer a case.
If Trump, 76, is indicted, he will be the first former US president to be charged with a crime. This will reduce his chances of running for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2024 election.
On Friday, one of Trump’s lawyers, Joseph Tacopina, told reporters his client would appear in court in New York if the charges were filed.
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The former President of the Republic (2017-2021), who was involved in several lawsuits but was never charged, saw this threat materialized in the New York courts.
The Bragg-led investigation focuses on a $130,000 payment to a porn actress named Stormy Daniels two weeks before Trump’s 2016 presidential election.
The money allegedly stopped Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, from publicly revealing her relationship with Trump a few years ago.
Trump has repeatedly denied having an affair with Daniels and dismissed the investigation because it was politically motivated.
In his Truth Social post on Saturday, Trump referred to “illegal leaks from the office of a highly politicized and corrupt Manhattan prosecutor” and said the investigation was “based on an old and completely debunked fairy tale (! by many other prosecutors!) “. .
According to his attorney, Charles Brewster, Daniels met with prosecutors on Wednesday and “agreed to appear as a witness or for further investigation if necessary.”
In early March, the Bragg prosecution team gave Trump a chance to testify but is expected to decline to avoid incriminating himself. Experts say the invite is almost certainly a sign you’re about to get scammed.
Former Trump lawyer and rival Michael Cohen testified before a grand jury in New York on Monday. The payment to Daniels was made by Cohen, who said he would be reimbursed later.
Failure to properly account for this payment could result in a charge of forgery of business records. That could become a crime if mis-booking obscures a second crime, such as a campaign finance violation, the New York Times reported.
Trump faces multiple state and federal criminal investigations before, during and after his term in office for possible crimes that jeopardize his new career in the White House.
In Georgia, a prosecutor is investigating efforts by Trump and his allies to undo the president’s 2020 election defeat in this southern state. The grand jury proposed multiple charges in the case, the president said last month.
He is also the subject of a federal investigation into his handling of classified documents and possible involvement in the violent occupation of the Capitol, the seat of the United States Congress, on January 6, 2021.
Believing that Democrat Joe Biden “stole” the 2020 election from him, Trump has already urged his supporters to mobilize and fuel Washington’s political crisis, particularly the January 6 attack on the Capitol 2021.
Source: Ultimahora
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Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
