Police in major US cities yesterday were ramping up security ahead of a possible historic indictment of Donald Trump over hush money paid to a porn actress, with the former president calling for mass demonstrations if he is charged.
However, only a handful of Trump supporters attended a protest in America’s financial capital on Monday evening, as a grand jury weighs an investigation by Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg over the 2016 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, reports AFP.
Trump would become the first former or sitting president to be charged with a crime if an indictment is filed – a move that would send shockwaves through the 2024 White House race, in which the 76-year-old is running to regain office.
Bragg has put key witnesses in front of the jury in recent weeks and offered Trump the opportunity to testify.
Trump said over the weekend that he expected to be “arrested” yesterday and urged supporters to “protest, take our nation back!”
Bragg’s inquiry centres on $130 000 paid weeks before the 2016 polls to stop Daniels from going public about an affair she claimed she had with Trump years earlier.
Trump’s former lawyer-turned-enemy Michael Cohen said he made the payment and was later reimbursed.
The payment to Daniels, if not properly accounted for, could result in a misdemeanour charge for falsifying business records.
That might be raised to a felony if the false accounting was intended to cover up a second crime, such as a campaign finance violation.
Trump has denied having had an affair with Daniels and has blasted the investigation as a “witch hunt”.
dailyvoice@inl.co.za