Donald Trump is preparing to be arrested Tuesday and go through what no other former US president has experienced: having his fingerprints taken and a photo taken for his police record. But true to himself, the former president says he will “fight” the allegations as he prepares to run in the 2024 presidential election.
A New York state grand jury has filed suit against Trump for paying $130,000 to pornographic actress Stormy Daniels to buy her silence during the 2016 presidential campaign.
The former president denies breaking the law and accuses Manhattan prosecutor Alvin Bragg of launching a “witch hunt.”
The goal, according to Trump, is to prevent the Republican Party from nominating him as a candidate for the White House at a time when he is the clear favorite, even though he seems to have lost his mobilization ability and the luster of the past.
His lawyers say the former president, who is at his home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, will turn himself in to New York authorities on Tuesday to respond to the allegations, which have been kept secret.
“The president won’t let himself be captivated,” said Joe Tacopina, one of the lawyers, who, however, fears that his opponents will take advantage of the situation by “parading him”.
Trump will plead not guilty and there is “zero” chance he will accept a guilty plea, Tacopina expected. “That won’t happen. There is no crime,” he assured.
Thursday’s indictment left Trump “shocked,” his attorney said, but now the former White House leader is “willing to fight.”
Trump himself issued his denunciation a few days ago calling for protests, warning that they could potentially lead to “death and destruction” in the country.
Security was immediately tightened at the courthouse in midtown Manhattan where Trump is expected to face trial.
“They only brought this false, corrupt and shameful charge against me because I support the American people and they know I can’t get a fair trial in New York!” Trump wrote on his own social network Truth Social.
Trump knows he is a born political survivor. While in the White House, he overcame two political trials and appears to evade other lawsuits involving his name, such as the attack on the Capitol, the seat of Congress, by a mob of supporters in January 2021; the disappearance of White House files or the alleged pressure on a Georgia state official during the 2020 election.
His party, in which he has never lost influence, seems sympathetic to Trump.
Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy ruled that the indictment has “irreparably damaged the country”, while his former vice president and possible 2024 opponent, Mike Pence, nicknamed “outrage” which “will divide even more ” the United States.
It is “anti-American,” in turn, said Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, another possible opponent.
Joe Biden, who beat him in the polls in 2020, already opted for caution: “I have no comment on Trump”. But former Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi recalled that “no one is above the law.”
Such an accusation could ruin any career and demoralize any other politician, but in Trump’s case the effects are unpredictable and it is unclear whether he will be harmed.
His critics believe that if he is acquitted, it will affect other charges in more serious matters, such as the former president’s role in trying to have the results of the Georgia election, where Biden won, null and void. explain. a slim majority, or the January 6, 2021 riots in the Capitol.
In addition, the charges against him will likely bolster Trump’s own campaign, bolstering his base of support for the Republican primary.
Source: DN
