United States.- Donald Trump could be indicted in New York as soon as this week for allegedly covering up hush money payments to a porn star during his 2016 presidential campaign, nearly seven years after the money changed hands.
However, any trial against the former US president would still be more than a year away, legal experts said, and could coincide with the final months of the 2024 presidential campaign, when Trump seeks a return to the White House.
In a social media post Saturday, Trump said he expects to be arrested on Tuesday and called on his supporters to protest, though a spokesman later said the former president has not been notified of any pending arrests.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has presented evidence to a New York grand jury about a $130,000 payment to porn actress “Stormy” Daniels in the final days of the 2016 presidential campaign in exchange for her silence. about an alleged affair, according to sources.
Trump has denied the relationship and his lawyer has accused Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, of racketeering.
If impeached, Trump would become the first former US president to face criminal prosecution.
Polls show him ahead of other potential challengers for the Republican nomination, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is widely expected to run for the White House.
The average New York criminal case takes more than a year to go from indictment to trial, said Karen Friedman Agnifilo, a former Manhattan chief assistant district attorney, and Trump’s case is far from typical.
That raises the possibility that Trump may have to stand trial in the midst of the 2024 presidential campaign, or even after Election Day, though putting a President-elect or President on trial on state charges would enter uncharted legal waters. If elected, he would not have the power to pardon himself from state charges.
The New York case is one of several focused on Trump, including an investigation into election interference in the state of Georgia and a pair of federal investigations into his role in the January 6, 2021 storming of the Capitol by his supporters and about his withholding of classified documents after leaving the White House.
