The possibility of Donald Trump being indicted for allegedly covering up secret payments to a porn star during his 2016 campaign is stirring sympathy for the former Republican president, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said Sunday.
Mr. Trump, whose supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, in an attempt to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential election, said in a social media post on Saturday that he expected be arrested on Tuesday – citing leaks from the Manhattan district attorney’s office – and called on people to protest. He did not discuss the possible charges in his message.
“There’s a lot of sympathy for the former president,” Sununu said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” adding that he had spoken to people who weren’t “big guys” on Sunday. Trump supporters, but all of whom said … they felt he was under attack.”
Mr. Trump is seeking the Republican nomination for 2024. Mr. Sununu, a moderate, plans to run.
A spokesperson for Mr. Trump said the former president had not been informed of any arrests and that Mr. Trump had provided no evidence of leaks from the Manhattan district attorney’s office.
No American president has ever faced criminal prosecution, either during or after his term in office.
Mr Trump said he would continue to campaign even if charged.
A spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose office is investigating the $130,000 payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels by former Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen, says comment is refused.
Sources say Mr Bragg’s office presented evidence to a grand jury relating to the payment, which was made in the final days of the 2016 campaign in exchange for Ms Daniels’ silence over an affair she says she had had with Mr. Trump ten years earlier.
Mr. Trump denied the existence of the connection and called the investigation led by Mr. Bragg, a Democrat, a witch hunt.
An additional witness is expected to appear before the grand jury on Monday at the request of Mr. Trump’s lawyers, a person with knowledge of the case said Saturday.
Mr. Trump’s statement that he expected to be arrested on Tuesday is based on reports that Mr. Bragg’s office was going to meet with law enforcement to prepare for a possible indictment, the person said. , who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Legal experts have said that if indicted, any trial of the former US president would not take place for more than a year, which could coincide with the final months of the 2024 presidential campaign. as Mr. Trump seeks to return to the White House.
Asked about the possibility of violence after Mr Trump called on his supporters to protest, Senator Elizabeth Warren told ABC News: ‘This is another instance of Donald Trump standing up for Donald Trump.
Ms Warren said there was no reason to protest, as Mr Trump had requested, adding: ‘No one is above the law: ‘No one is above the law .
