Former President Donald Trump is facing a potential indictment of the Manhattan District Attorney next week after his announcement that he anticipates being arrested on Tuesday. This follows reports of a payment of $130,000 in "hush money" to former stripper Stormy Daniels by Trump in the fall of 2016 to cut off or reduce any public scandal.
U.S. The Southern District of New York attorney's office had previously declined to prosecute Trump on the grounds of election law violations and the Federal Election Commission chair had expressed doubts about the theory. The case may be charged under section 175 for falsifying business records, based on the claim that Trump used legal expenses to conceal the alleged hush payments that were supposedly used to violate federal election laws.
Trump's potential indictment has been met with backlash from Republicans and public figures who have called it a politically motivated attack on a 2024 Democratic rival. Trump himself has accused Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg of “prosecutorial misconduct” and “interference in an election”. The two prosecutors in the DA office, Mark Pomerantz and Carey Dunne, had previously resigned in disagreement with Bragg’s handling of the investigation.
New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman reported that Trump is "very anxious" about potentially being indicted, and is aware that the situation could give him a political boost. His former personal lawyer Michael Cohen on Sunday said that if Trump is arrested he would "absolutely" go through the formalities of being fingerprinted and photographed.
The case is said to center on a $130,000 payment from Trump's former attorney and fixer Michael Cohen to porn star Stormy Daniels to buy her silence about an alleged sexual encounter with the then-candidate. Cohen pled guilty to violating the campaign finance laws in August 2021 and was sentenced to three years in federal prison. Both Cohen and Daniels have testified before the grand jury in Manhattan investigating the case.
Trump and his political team are reportedly "preparing politically for a huge blitz to push back on the Manhattan District Attorney", though he has called on his supporters to protest his expected arrest on Tuesday. After Trump’s screed, Bragg sent a memo to staff, saying he would not “tolerate attempts to intimidate our office.”
The only way to convert this charge into a Class E felony requires a showing that the "intent to defraud includes an intention to commit another crime or to aid or conceal the commission thereof", which would be federal election violations. This charge might be difficult to establish given the statute of limitations, which is two years for misdemeanors and five years for felonies.