Former President Donald Trump said Saturday that he expects to be arrested this coming week by the Manhattan district attorney's office.
In a rambling post on his self-founded Truth Social, Trump wrote that "illegal leaks" from the Manhattan DA indicate that he "will be arrested on Tuesday," and urged his followers to "protest, take our nation back!" In a post just prior to that one, Trump claimed that the United States "is now third world and dying. The American dream is dead!"
It is unclear what leaks Trump was referring to. However, NBC News first reported that local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies were preparing for the likely arrest of the former president over a hush money scandal involving porn star Stormy Daniels.
The Manhattan district attorney revived that case against Trump this past January, and multiple people involved in the case, including Daniels, have additionally spoken to federal prosecutors. Senior law enforcement officials reportedly told NBC that the Secret Service was coordinating with the NYPD, FBI, court officers, and others in the event that Trump is indeed arrested, though they stressed that this was all a precautionary measure.
If Trump's prediction about himself rings true, it would be the first time in American history that a former president has been charged with a crime. CNN noted that Trump's legal team have been anticipating indictments on the horizon for some time. Trump's attorney, Joseph Tacopina, told The Associated Press that the former president would turn himself in if charged.
These may not be the only legal proceedings brought against Trump, either, as a grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia, is set to unveil indictment recommendations in a case relating to alleged election tampering in the 2020 election. The jury forewoman told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that multiple indictments had been recommended, though did not specify anyone by name.