Former President Donald Trump said Saturday that «illegal leaks» have indicated that he will be arrested on Tuesday and called on his supporters to protest.
Trump, in posts on his Trump Social social media platform, referenced reports that he could soon face possible criminal charges in New York related to a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Trump did not say whether law enforcement had informed him of an impending indictment.
NBC News reported Friday that law enforcement agencies are preparing for a possible impeachment of Trump starting next week.
Trump, a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, denounced «illegal leaks» that «indicate» that he would be arrested on Tuesday.
«PROTEST, TAKE BACK OUR NATION!» Trump wrote.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing and called the investigation by Manhattan Democratic District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office a continuation of the partisan «witch hunt» against him. He also accused Bragg, who is black, of being a «racist.»
The 76-year-old presidential candidate has said he has no plans to drop out of the race, even if he is impeached. «Absolutely not,» he told reporters at a political event in early March, adding that being charged «would probably improve my numbers, but it’s a very bad thing for America.»
A key witness in the current case is Michael Cohen, a former Trump lawyer and mediator who testified before the grand jury this week. Cohen pleaded guilty in federal court in 2018 to making the illegal payment to Daniels for the «primary purpose of influencing» the 2016 presidential election, saying he did so on Trump’s orders. He was sentenced to three years in prison for that and other crimes.
Trump acknowledged that he returned Cohen the $130,000, but maintained that the payment was legal. Triumph tweeted in 2018 that the money «was not from the campaign» and that the agreement had been «a private contract between two parties, known as a non-disclosure agreement or NDA.»
«The agreement was used to stop the false and extortionate accusations made by her of an affair … despite the fact that she had already signed a detailed letter admitting there was no affair,» Trump said Wednesday. Twitter.
Olympia Sonnier and dareh gregorian contributed.