(PresidentialWire.com)- NBC News reported last Friday that local, state, and federal law enforcement officials were making preliminary plans for the possibility that a Manhattan grand jury could indict former President Donald Trump.
Sources familiar with the preliminary preparations told NBC News that officials from the NYPD, the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, New York State Court officers, and the US Secret Service have begun discussing possible security plans for in and around the Manhattan Criminal Court should Trump be indicted and forced to travel to New York to face the charges.
However, the officials who spoke with NBC News emphasized that no charges against the former president have been filed, and the preparations are merely precautionary.
Trump’s attorney Joe Pacopina said in a statement that if Trump is charged and has to surrender to authorities, the former president will follow the normal procedures.
The grand jury has been hearing testimony involving the $130,000 paid to Daniels by former Trump “fixer” Michael Cohen in the final days of the 2016 election to determine if any state laws were broken.
Cohen alleges that he made the payment to keep Daniels from talking about the alleged affair she had with Trump in 2006. Trump has denied her allegation.
According to Cohen, Trump instructed him to pay Daniels for the “principal purpose of influencing” the 2016 election. The Trump Organization reimbursed Cohen after Trump took office, listing the reimbursement as “legal fees.”
Last week, Cohen spent two days testifying before the grand jury.
Attorneys for Stormy Daniels said their client met with prosecutors on Wednesday and that she would give testimony to the grand jury as well.
In a Saturday post on Truth Social, Trump falsely claimed that he would be arrested on Tuesday and demanded his supporters “PROTEST.”
Saturday evening, Susan Necheles, the lead attorney on Trump’s defense team, said that the former president’s claim was based on “press reports” and prosecutors have not notified the defense of any imminent arrest, Business Insider reported.
