Last week, workers started building barricades outside the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse in preparation for a potential, historic event: Donald Trump showing up to answer questions about hush money allegations, making him the first president in US history to be charged with a crime.
Mr. Trump urged on his fans to demonstrate against what he called the “corrupt and extremely politicized Manhattan district attorney’s office” over the weekend after announcing that he anticipated being arrested this week.
Team Trump immediately started to restrain the former president, though. The grand jury didn’t convene on Tuesday as the investigation into hush money payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign dragged on with new witnesses through Monday.
A Trump official stated that aside from “illegal leaks,” the former president’s team had received “no warning” of an anticipated arrest.
WILL HE BE ARRESTED AND WHEN?
Since then, a number of media outlets have made predictions about when the legal action will be taken.
On March 22, the grand jury’s procedures were suspended, which most likely delayed any potential charges.
The jury would then be able to decide whether or not to indict Mr. Trump after hearing from all the witnesses.
The former president is not anticipated to show up in court until sometime the following week if an indictment is issued.
The likelihood of an indictment appears not to be in question. A common indication that the office is getting ready to indict is that Mr. Trump was given the opportunity to address the grand jury. The indictment will also require a vote from the grand jury, but it is highly irregular to dismiss the charges.
While it’s unknown if any additional witnesses will be called as the grand jury reconvenes, Mr. Trump is waiting it out in Florida.
To prepare for a potential arrest of Mr. Trump, police and security officials met on Monday at the headquarters of the New York Police Department.
A source with knowledge of the preparations told Politico, “We’ll be talking about how we bring Trump in. No decisions have been made yet.”
Trump’s attorneys stated over the weekend that there won’t be a “stand-off at Mar-a-Lago” if the president is charged.
A defendant who turns himself in typically shows up to the district attorney’s office for an appointment. It will be necessary to take Mr. Trump’s mugshot and fingerprints. The Wall Street Journal was informed by Karen Agnifilo, a former prosecutor with the Manhattan district attorney’s office, that Mr. Trump would thereafter be detained and questioned by detective investigators.
As every other individual who is detained and has their fingerprints taken in this nation, he would also receive a rap sheet indicating this arrest, according to Ms. Agnifilo.
She continued by saying that Mr. Trump would probably avoid spending time in a holding cell like the majority of defendants awaiting arraignment.
On far-right message boards, some discussed blocking law enforcement from reaching Mr. Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Supporters of Mr. Trump, ranging from the New York Young Republicans to far-right figure Laura Loomer, said they planned to hold demonstrations to protest the charges at various sites across the country.
Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida and Mr. Trump’s major opponent in the GOP 2024 race, came out on Monday on the allegations.
At a press conference in Panama City, Mr. DeSantis said, “I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some kind of alleged affair.” I’m unable to comment on that.
