Davenport, Iowa – March 13 : Former President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he lands at Quad City International Airport in route to Iowa on Monday, March 13, 2023, in Moline, IL.
Jabin Botsford | The Washington Post | Getty Images
An array of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in New York are preparing for the possibility that ex-President Donald Trump will be criminally charged as early as next week in connection with a hush-money payment to a porn star, WNBC reported Friday.
Discussions between the agencies included potential security arrangements around the state Criminal Court in lower Manhattan, where a grand jury has been hearing testimony related to the 2016 payoff to Stormy Daniels, according to the report, which cited five senior officials.
If he is indicted, the 2024 Republican presidential candidate Trump would become the first former president ever to face criminal charges.
Many legal observers expect him to be indicted, based on the fact that a grand jury was impaneled in the first place, and because prosecutors recently offered Trump the opportunity to testify.
The law-enforcement agencies involved in security talks about that possibility include the New York Police Department, the U.S. Secret Service, the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, and New York State Court Officers, WNBC reported.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, which is conducting the criminal investigation into Trump, also is involved in the preparations.
The report on the discussions came two days after Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen wrapped up two days of testimony to the grand jury. Daniels also spoke to prosecutors via Zoom.
Cohen previously has admitted paying Daniels $130,000 at Trump’s behest on the eve of the 2016 presidential election to buy her silence about her claim that she had sex with Trump on one occasion years earlier.
Trump has denied having sex with Daniels, but his company reimbursed Cohen for the payoff.
In recent days, Trump has…
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