Because he paid hush money to two alleged ex-affairs, Donald Trump could soon be charged.
As the first former US President in history.
New York – At the weekend, US President Donald Trump, who was voted out of office, was sure that he was threatened with arrest and called on his fans via his Twitter replacement Truth Social for help.
In the meantime, there are increasing indications of a possible indictment, but Trump will not have to move into a prison cell any time soon.
Because compared to all the things that the 76-year-old is accused of preparing for a possible coup d'état to alleged betrayal of secrets, alleged hush money payments to former affairs are the purest trifle.
Rather, observers assume that the announced arrest could be a move to swear Trump fans to loud protests in advance.
The news site Euronews
reports
that Trump has not only called on his supporters to protest several times - the former president's team has also issued several appeals for donations.
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In the United States, there are growing indications that former US President Donald Trump is facing impeachment.
(archive photo)
© Roberto Schmidt/AFP
Former US President: Trump may not have expected arrest himself
The report draws parallels to the communicative strategy during Trump's election defeat in autumn 2020, when the then US President questioned the election results even before the first results were known.
With this approach, the Republican Trump ultimately created the starting point for the storming of the Capitol by his supporters, who wanted to prevent the legitimate takeover of power by the Democrats with their intervention.
Trump's renewed calls for protests – even before the publication of a possible indictment – could serve a similar purpose.
In any case, the office of the New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg seems to be preparing for headwinds, according to the
Euronews
report .
This quotes an internal email with which Bragg responded to the still unconfirmed announcement of Trump's arrest.
In it, the Democratic prosecutor assured that the responsible security authorities would ensure the safety of the 1,600 employees of the New York agency in the event of "specific or credible threats".
Investigations against Donald Trump: First possible charges against former incumbent
Bragg's authorities have been investigating for some time because of hush money payments to a porn actress and a model against the former US President, who is said to have had affairs with both.
In fact, an indictment in the case seems increasingly likely.
But if Trump follows the usual procedure, as announced by his lawyer, an arrest would not be necessary.
Model Karen McDougal and adult star Stormy Daniels both claim to have had affairs with the former reality TV star prior to Trump's presidency and were silenced with money.
The case is particularly explosive because the investigators are checking whether Trump may have violated campaign finance laws by making the payment.
Hush money is not illegal in the US, but the indictment could make Daniels' $130,000 a campaign donation illegal in New York state.
A jury will decide whether to press charges after prosecutors have presented evidence.
US media assume that this decision will be made in the coming days.
Trump could become the first ex-president to be charged with an alleged crime.
Trump announced in November that he would run for the presidency again in 2024.
(saka/dpa)
List of rubrics: © Roberto Schmidt/AFP
