Former President Donald Trump has raised eyebrows by claiming that he expects to be arrested in the coming week in connection to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's investigation into an alleged hush-money payment to Adult Film Star Stormy Daniels. Trump has not been indicted or formally charged with a crime, but if an indictment is made, Trump's lawyer Susan Necheles said that they will follow "normal procedures" which would not include arrest.
The payment of $130,000 made ahead of the 2016 presidential election is being investigated to see if it violated campaign finance rules. Bragg's office has declined requests for comments from multiple outlets.
The potential arrest has drawn criticism from Republican lawmakers who have condemned it as being "politically motivated" and an "abuse of power." House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif. ) said he would direct relevant committees to investigate if Federal funding is used to interfere in elections with politically motivated prosecutions. Trump has acknowledged that he reimbursed his former attorney Michael Cohen for the payment, but insists that it was unrelated to his campaign finances.
Top Trump Allies have joined McCarthy in denouncing the probe as politically motivated and siding with the former president who has insisted that he has done nothing wrong. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga. ) (R-Ga. ) tweeted that Trump will "win even bigger" than he was already going to if Bragg indicts him and "did nothing wrong." J. E. D. D. Vance (R-Ohio) has been asked multiple times if Trump being indicted would cause him to take away his endorsement of Trump in the presidential election of 2024.
The looming potential arrest has caused a stir among Republican lawmakers who have condemned it as a politically motivated power play. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R - N.R. Elise Stefanik) Y Y In a statement, the Chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, said that the "Radical Left" will have Trump arrested because they know that they can not defeat him in an election. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S. : — Lindsey Graham (R . C. C. On Saturday, at a conservative conference in South Carolina, Vision 24 ) said Bragg has "done more" to help Trump get reelected than anyone else in the country. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) also argued that the case is not strong, saying it is based on a strained, convoluted legal theory.