Trump insists ‘there was no crime, period’ and now says Manhattan’s DA should be investigated for ‘interfering’ with the election – as White House says ‘we’re watching this’ after ex-president called for protests
- Trump posted on Truth Social Sunday that he is not guilty of committing any crime, not even a misdemeanor
- He called for an investigation of Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, who is likely to indict Trump on charges of falsifying business records
- The former president has said he expects to be arrested as early as Tuesday
Donald Trump is claiming full innocence and isn’t buying the narrative from some Republicans defending him by saying the alleged hush-money payments he made to Stormy Daniels are a ‘misdemeanor’ at best.
The former president said on Sunday that there ‘was no crime ‘ and flipped the script on the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, demanding the Democratic prosecutors be investigated for ‘interfering’ with the presidential election.
Prosecutors argue that he violated a New York law which prohibits falsifying business records when he marked a $130,000 payment to Daniels as ‘legal expenses.’
Trump said he expects to be arrested as early as Tuesday on New York state charges related to a payment he made ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Meanwhile, the White House claims that it is not preparing for any violence as a fallout from a possible indictment this week – and the ex-president’s urges for his supporters to ‘protest, protest, protest.’
Former President Donald Trump insisted he is not guilty of any crimes in a post on Truth Social Sunday. He is pictured here waving at the NCAA Division 1 wrestling championships on Saturday
In his lengthy post on Sunday, Trump hit out at Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg
‘We’re always monitoring the situation here, as best we can,’ National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said during an interview on Fox News Sunday.
‘And we obviously don’t want to see any activity go violent – certainly nothing to the extent that we saw on January 6,’ he added. ‘But we’re watching this. We’re watching it, of course, closely.’
In his lengthy post on Sunday, Trump hit out at Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is expected to indict the former president on criminal charges within the coming days.
‘When Alvin Bragg first attained office, he made it very clear that, like many other prosecutors, there would be no case against Donald J. Trump,’ he wrote. ‘Then the Biden Administration, the Democrats, and the Fake News Media began pushing him, and pushing him hard, and lo and behold, he said that there might just be a case after all.
‘I knew what that meant — He was being pushed to do something that shouldn’t be done,’ Trump claimed. ‘He wasn’t willing to stand up to Soros and the Marxists that are destroying our Country!’
Then in a follow-up post, Trump insisted there was ‘no crime, period.
‘All other of the many Democrat law enforcement officers that looked at it, took a pass,’ he noted. ‘So did Cy Vance, and so did Bragg. But then much latter [sic]. he changed his mind. Gee, I wonder why?’
At that point, Trump accused Bragg of ‘prosecutorial misconduct’ and ‘interference with an election,’ as he called for a probe into Bragg’s investigation.
The New York City DA had earlier presented evidence to a New York grand jury about the $130,000 payment to Daniels in exchange for her silence about an alleged affair.
The payment was listed as ‘legal expenses’ which Bragg’s office says is a violation of New York law which prohibits falsifying business records.
Trump has repeatedly denied these claims, and his lawyer has accused Daniels — whose real name is Stephanie Clifford — of extortion.
Still, he refused to testify before the grand jury in his case.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is said to be getting close to indicting the former president for hush money payments he made to Stormy Daniels
Daniels has come forward to discuss the affair, and detailed how she received $130,000 from the Trump campaign
Former President Trump urged his supporters to ‘protest’ as he claimed he expects to be arrested as early as Tuesday
https://youtube.com/watch?v=TiXLGnNrFHU%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26hl%3Den-US
Supporters of the former president, including some 2024 Republican primary rivals, claim that the charges against Trump would be a ‘misdemeanor.’ They say he is only being treated harshly because Trump is a leading voice of the opposition party of those in power in New York and in the White House.
Trump on Sunday claimed he is not guilty of committing any crime, not even a misdemeanor, as he blasted ‘prosecutorial misconduct and interference with an election.
‘Investigate the investigators,’ he urged.
His posts come as White House officials claim they are not preparing for any riots if the former president is arrested.
Kirby, when asked if those at the White House are worried about any security concerns in Washington, D.C. this week, replied: ‘I’m not aware of any indications that we’re preparing for that kind of activity specifically with respect to those comments.’
‘But, obviously, we work hand in glove with local and state authorities all around the country and we’ll continue to watch this as best we can,’ he added to Fox News Sunday guest host Mike Emanuel.
Kirby said that they are closely monitoring the situation and is hopeful that if there are protests that they remain peaceful.
National Security Adviser John Kirby said there are no indications that the White House is preparing for massive riots
Trump previously claimed on his Truth Social platform that he expects to be arrested as early as Tuesday as he called on his supporters to ‘protest, take our nation back.’
Several have already heeded that advice, planning a moat around Mar-a-Lago in South Florida to prevent his arrest while others gathered outside of Trump Tower in Manhattan.
The NYPD is now said to be preparing to deploy its ‘Strategic Response Group,’ comprising 700 members trained in ‘disaster control.’
And, if necessary, officials said, they could escalate the situation by deploying a Level 4 alert — which would put eight cops and one sergeant on standby at every precinct across New York City.
But speaking to FOX News Sunday, National Security Adviser John Kirby said there are no indications that the White House is preparing for massive riots.
When asked whether he was concerned about security, Kirby responded: ‘I’m not aware of any indications that we’re preparing for that kind o activity, specifically, with respect to those comments.
‘But obviously, we work hand in glove with local and state authorities all around the country, and we’ll continue to watch this as best we can.’
‘We’re always monitoring the situation here as best we can,’ he continued. ‘And we obviously don’t want to see any activity grow violent, certainly nothing to the extent we saw on January 6, but we’re watching this. We’ll watch it of course, closely.’
‘We’ll want to see if there are protests of any kind about any issue, or quite frankly let alone this, that they’re peaceful.’
Supporters of the former president have already descended on his Mar-a-Lago estate to prevent his arrest
Others gathered outside of Trump Tower in Manhattan during the St. Patrick’s Day parade
Trump supporters gathered on a street corner Saturday outside the BOK Center before an expected visit by Trump
Marchers react to a group holding pro-Donald Trump and MAGA signs in Manhattan
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