On Saturday March 18, former President Donald Trump took to social media, claiming he would be arrested the following Tuesday. The reason for the potential arrest is in regards to previously using his campaign money to cover up an affair.
Donald Trump was accused of paying $130,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels in hopes of keeping her quiet about their affair. The money was said to be given to Daniels shortly before the 2016 election by Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen.
Although the payment itself wasn’t a crime, the fact that the money was falsely claimed to be for legal expenses on fake documents is the reason for the commotion.
Pleasant Valley Government teacher Joe Youngbauer explained the situation in more detail. “The potentially illegal part of the story has to do with falsifying business transactions. Former Trump lawyer Micheal Cohen provided Daniels the hush money and the Trump Organization reimbursed Cohen through what they claimed, ‘on the books,’ as a retainer fee for the lawyers services,” said Youngbauer.
This is not where the story ends.
“Here is where it gets more complicated. Falsifying business records is just a misdemeanor, which may not go very far. In order to turn this into a felony, the New York DA has to tie another crime to it. Fuzzy right now what the second crime might be…could be some kind of conspiracy charge or even elevating to committing a crime related to federal campaign finance law due to the proximity to the Presidential Election,” Youngbauer continued.
Trump took to social media to announce his potential arrest, but the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has not been officially notified of an indictment. The former president also has not stated his reasoning for expecting to be arrested, but sources claim that Trump believes a Manhattan District attorney doesn’t like him.
Along with the statement about his arrest, Trump called for his supporters to protest against his potential arrest, which is reminiscent of his final days in office. On Jan. 6, 2022, Trump also urged his supporters to storm the Capitol in rejection of the 2020 presidential election results.
There are witnesses scheduled to take the stand in the courtroom in the future but most of the public info is based on claims by the news media and the public. Official actions regarding Trump are yet to be announced.
