Donald Trump expects his own arrest on Tuesday for hush money payments

Washington. Former US President Donald Trump is expected to be arrested next Tuesday. That’s why he called on his supporters to protest. “The overwhelmingly leading Republican candidate and former President of the United States of America will be arrested on Tuesday next week. Protest, take back our nation!” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social on Saturday.

Investigations into money for porn actress

New York prosecutors are investigating Trump over hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels. On Wednesday she testified before the investigating prosecutors. $130,000 is said to have flowed to Daniels ahead of the 2016 US presidential election. At the same time, Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen testified that he is said to have processed the payment.

It was unclear what made Trump assume that he would be arrested on Tuesday. The 76-year-old denies the allegations made by the public prosecutor.

And again protests

Trump’s call for protests brought back memories of the storming of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, when Trump supporters violently entered the House of Commons in Washington to prevent the official confirmation of Democrat Joe Biden’s victory over Republican Trump. Trump had previously goaded her at an appearance at the White House by repeating his false allegations of voter fraud.

It is questionable how a possible indictment against Trump would affect his renewed application for the presidency. Trump announced in November that he wanted to run again. Even if he were charged, Trump had made it clear in advance that he had no intention of withdrawing his application. Many months or, in extreme cases, years could pass before a possible conviction. And even a guilty verdict wouldn’t legally stop Trump from running for the 2024 election.

Candidate despite guilty verdict?

Whether the Republican base would be willing to rally behind a candidate charged in connection with dubious hush-money payments to a porn star remains to be seen. In the past, similarly spicy allegations have not diminished Trump’s popularity with his supporters. However, he has not yet appeared in court himself.

Trump has repeatedly tried in the past to portray investigations against him as politically motivated and to stylize himself as an innocent victim. The ex-president recently described the case in New York as a “witch hunt”. In his most recent post on Truth Social on Saturday, Trump called the New York City Attorney’s office “corrupt” and “highly political.” Speaker of the House, Republican Kevin McCarthy, tweeted on Saturday that the prosecution’s actions were “a heinous abuse of power” and an act of political revenge.

Trump is back

In order to reach his supporters better, Trump seems to want to use tried and tested means again. On Friday, the ex-president reported back to Facebook for the first time in a long time. “I’m back!” Trump wrote in a short video clip showing him winning the 2016 election. The world’s largest online network had him back on the platform at the end of January – a good two years after the violent storming of the US Capitol by his supporters. Trump initially preferred to continue mobilizing his supporters through his own Twitter copy, Truth Social.

The allegations that Trump could now face indictment in New York have been with the former president for a long time. Porn actress Daniels says she had sex with Trump in 2006. Trump’s then and now estranged lawyer Michael Cohen said he paid her hush money on behalf of Trump in 2016 in order to avert damage to Trump during the election campaign. Trump and his lawyers conceded payment. Trump did not have an affair with Daniels. The prosecution now apparently wants to accuse him of deliberately miscalculating the payment to the porn star as costs for legal advice.

Did Trump’s payments violate campaign finance laws?

The public prosecutor’s office in New York is now obviously also concerned with the question of whether Trump may have violated campaign finance laws by making the payment. While hush money isn’t illegal in the United States, prosecutors could present Daniels’ $130,000 as a campaign donation illegal in New York state. Prosecutors could argue that the hush money benefited his candidacy directly.

Investigations are also underway against Trump in a number of other cases. A special prosecutor appointed by the Justice Department is investigating Trump’s role in the storming of the US Capitol and the taking of secret government documents from his tenure. In the state of Georgia, the public prosecutor’s office is investigating Trump for possible election manipulation. In one case, Trump has already been prosecuted – at least indirectly. His real estate group was fined in New York for tax fraud, among other things. The ex-president was not personally accused.

Trump announces campaign rally

Before announcing his imminent arrest, Trump announced that he would be holding the first rally of his 2024 presidential campaign in Texas. The venue on the evening of March 25 will be Waco, according to his campaign team. Trump has a large following in Texas. He spent the first few months of his campaign mostly at his Florida home, but has since begun visiting early-voting states.

US media believe in charges

In the United States, a jury decides whether to indict a case after the prosecutor has presented evidence. US media assume that this will happen to Trump in the coming days. He would be the first former US president to be indicted for an alleged crime.

RND/dpa