Former US President Donald Trump, a candidate for the 2024 Republican nomination for the White House, yesterday called on his supporters to take to the streets in protest, claiming he will be arrested next Tuesday. It concerns an allegation related to the alleged payment to a former porn star, Stormy Daniels, during the 2016 presidential campaign. He has always denied everything and claims that the trial is a “witch hunt” with political motives.
“Illegal Escapes from the Corrupt and Highly Political Manhattan District Attorney’s Office [Alvin L. Bragg]allowing new records of violent crimes to be broken […] show that, with no crime proven and based on an old fairy tale that has already been debunked (by countless other accusers), the leading Republican nominee and former US president, will be arrested next TuesdayTrump wrote in all caps in his Truth Social. He posted nothing on Facebook, which he backtracked on the day before.
“It’s time! We are a nation in sharp decline being led into World War III by a crooked politician who doesn’t even know he’s alive […] We can no longer allow this. They are killing our nation while we sit back and watch. We must save America! Protest, protest, protest!”indicated in another post, also claiming that “the American dream is dead”
The appeal, reminiscent of the rhetoric used before the January 6, 2021 invasion of the Capitol, was published despite Trump not being officially notified of any charges, according to the lawyers. In fact, the grand jury handling the case has at least one witness yet to hear.
Well, there was an indication that agents from the local and federal security forces are said to be scheduling a meeting early in the week to discuss the safety and logistics of an indictment against Trump — which, if confirmed, will be the first by a former US president. According to the Associated Press news agency, if charged, he will only be arrested if he refuses to surrender. But still on Friday, on CNBC, one of Trump’s lawyers said he would follow suit, that is, he would agree to turn himself in to a New York police station or directly to Bragg’s office.
The aim of the 76-year-old former president’s call is to urge his supporters, after he also sent an email asking for campaign funds. Trump has already said he will keep the candidacy even if he is impeached. Several Republicans also defended the former president, including House of Representatives leader Kevin McCarthy, who called the investigation an “excessive abuse of power” by a “radical” prosecutor whom he accused of chasing “political revenge.” On Twitter, he also promised to investigate whether public funds are being used for “politically motivated allegations”.
problems with justice
This lawsuit is just one of the lawsuits involving Trump and involves the payment of $130,000 during the 2016 campaign to Stormy Daniels by Michael Cohen, the then-candidate’s personal attorney. The money bought the former porn star’s silence, who claimed to have had an affair with Trump a decade earlier – when he was already married to Melania.
Cohen was reimbursed by the Trump Organization and presented the money as fees. In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to wage-related charges, including lying to Congress, bank fraud and violating election financing laws. He was sentenced to three years in prison. While the payment itself isn’t illegal, falsifying the company’s documents — to reimburse Cohen — is. And prosecutors may want to argue it’s an unreported campaign contribution, a crime that, if proven, could earn Trump four years in prison.
However, the ex-president faces other lawsuits. In New York, his company has been under investigation for fraud for decades. There is also the case of the secret documents found in his home in Mar-a-Lago. Regarding the election, the Justice Department is investigating the attack on the Capitol and what role the former president played in encouraging protesters. In Georgia, it’s under investigation over attempts to overturn the state’s 2016 presidential results — the grand jury’s final report remains sealed, with only parts revealed. In all cases, the former president denies the allegations and claims to be the target of political persecution.
Source: DN
