Trump says he expects to be arrested on Tuesday, calls for protests

Former U.S. president Donald Trump on Saturday said he expects to be arrested on Tuesday as New York prosecutors consider charges over a hush money payment to a porn starand called on his supporters to protest.

"Illegal leaks from a corrupt & highly political Manhattan district attorney's office ... indicate that, with no crime being able to be proven ... the far & away leading Republican candidate & former president of the United States of America, will be arrested on Tuesday of next week," Trump wrote on Truth Social, his social media platform.

A spokespersonfor Trump said the former president had not been notified of any arrest. Trump provided no evidence of leaks from the district attorney's office and did not discuss the possible charges in his post.

"Protest, take our nation back!" said Trump, whose supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, to try to overturn his 2020 presidential election defeat.

No U.S. president has faced criminal charges

The probe comes as Trump seeks the Republican nomination for the presidency in 2024.

No U.S. president while in office or afterward has faced criminal charges. Trump has said he will continue campaigning even if he is charged with a crime.

A spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg whose office has been investigating a $130,000 US hush payment that Trump's former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, made to porn actor Stormy Daniels declined to comment.

Sources have said Bragg's office has been presenting evidence to a grand jury about the payment, which came in the waning days of Trump's 2016 campaign in exchange for Daniels's silence about an affair she said she had with Trump a decade earlier.

Trump has denied anaffair happened and called the investigation by Bragg, a Democrat, a witch hunt.

An additional witness is expected to appear before the grand jury on Monday, at the request of Trump's lawyers, a person familiar with the matter said on Saturday.

'Here we go again'

Trump's statement that he expected to be arrested on Tuesday is based on news reports that Bragg's office is going to be meeting with law enforcement to prepare for a possible indictment, said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The Republican Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, on Saturday decried the investigation.

"Here we go againan outrageous abuse of power by a radical DA who lets violent criminals walk as he pursues political vengeance against President Trump," McCarthy said on Twitter.

McCarthy's predecessor as speaker, Democratic Representative Nancy Pelosi, who, like McCarthy, was present at the Capitol when hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the building, battling with police, denounced Trump's call.

"The former president's announcement this morning is reckless: doing so to keep himself in the news and to foment unrest among his supporters," Pelosi said in a statement. "He cannot hide from his violations of the law, disrespect for our elections and incitements to violence."

Mike Pence, who served as Trump's vice-president,told ABC News that Trump's possible indictment "just feels like a politically charged prosecution here." Asked about Trump's call for people to protest if he is indicted, Pence said he thinks protesters will understand "they need to do so peacefully and in a lawful manner."

One of several legal woes for Trump

Bragg's office earlier this month invited Trump to testify before the grand jury probing the hush money payments, according to TrumplawyerSusan Necheles. Legal experts said that was a sign that an indictment was close.Trump declined theoffer, the person familiar with the matter said.

Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to federal campaign finance violations tied to his arranging payments to Daniels and another woman, among other crimes. He has said Trump directed him to make the payments. The U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan did not charge Trump with a crime.

The probe is one of several legal woes Trump faces as he seeks the Republican nomination for the presidency.

He is also confronting a state-level criminal probe in Georgia over efforts to overturn the 2020 results in that state.

A special counsel named by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland is currently investigating Trump's handling of classified government documents after leaving office, as well as his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which he lost to President Joe Biden, a Democrat.

Bragg's office last year won the conviction of the Trump Organization on tax fraud charges. But Bragg declined to charge Trump himself with financial crimes related to his business practices, prompting two prosecutors who worked on the probe to resign.

Trump leads rivals early in race

Trump, who was in Tulsa, Okla.,on Saturday and attendedthe NCAA wrestling championships, leads his early rivals for his party's nomination. He had the support of 43 per centof Republicans ina February Reuters/Ipsos poll, compared with 31 per centfor his nearestrival, Florida Gov.Ron DeSantis, who has not yet announcedhis candidacy.

Trump in 2018 initially disputed knowing anything about thepayment to Daniels. He later acknowledged reimbursing Cohen forthe payment, which he called a "simple private transaction."

WATCH | Trump allies say potential legal action against him is politically motivated:

Trump claims hell be arrested this week

2 years ago

Duration 1:56

Former U.S. president Donald Trump claims he will be arrested next Tuesday and is calling on his supporters to protest. He faces possible criminal charges related to the Manhattan district attorneys investigation into a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Cohen, who served time in prison after pleading guilty,testified before the grand jury this week. Grand jury proceedings are not public. Outside the courthouse in LowerManhattan, he told reporters he did not testify out of a desirefor revenge against Trump.

"This is all about accountability," he said. "He needs to beheld accountable for his dirty deeds."

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, spoke withprosecutors last week, according to her lawyer.

Trump founded Truth Social after beingbanned by Twitter, Facebook and YouTube following the Jan. 6assault on the Capitol. He has since regained his accounts onthose services, though he limited his Saturday statement toTruth Social.

"His messages on Truth Social are very concerning as he isdeclaring the entire justice system corrupt," said Jennifer Stromer-Galley, a senior associate dean at Syracuse University and an expert in social media use during elections.