Donald Trump suggested on Saturday morning that he will be arrested Tuesday on charges relating to the $130,000 he allegedly paid in hush money to adult actor Stormy Daniels.
The former president also called on supporters to “protest, take our nation back” ― in what commentators interpreted as a call to violence ― in the venomous rant on his Truth Social platform.
On Friday, Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina confirmed the former president would surrender to authorities without complication if he is indicted.
“We will follow normal procedure if it gets to that point,” Tacopina told Insider.
“There won’t be a standoff at Mar-a-Lago with Secret Service and the Manhattan DA’s office,” the lawyer — who this week went viral for trying to grab a piece of paper from MSNBC’s Ari Melber — told the New York Daily News, referring to Trump’s Florida resort and New York County district attorney.
The potential charges against Trump center on his alleged affair with Daniels in 2006 and accusations that he paid her off ― via a shell company created by his former attorney and longtime fixer Michael Cohen ― in exchange for her silence ahead of the 2016 election.
Trump has repeatedly called the investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office, which is reportedly looking at whether the payment broke state laws, a “witch hunt.”
Cohen, meanwhile, spent a year in prison for his role in the payment, which was in violation of campaign finance laws. And unsealed court documents in Cohen’s case demonstrate that Trump was involved with the payout.
If Trump is indicted, it would be the first time a former president has faced charges.