OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
A lawyer for Donald Trump described the most likely scenario at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago estate should he be indicted this week by a Manhattan grand jury.
The attorney stated that Trump would not resist and would surrender to authorities in the event of an indictment in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation into a hush-money agreement from his 2016 presidential campaign, The Hill reported.
“There won’t be a standoff at Mar-a-Lago with Secret Service and the Manhattan DA’s office,” Joe Tacopina told The New York Daily News. He suggested that Trump, whom he characterized as a survivor, would utilize any charges brought against him to his political advantage in the long run.
“Most people would collapse under the weight of this,” he said. “He seems to turn everything into a positive and everything into a boost for his campaign, so I’m sure this will just join that long list of things that people think no one could overcome, but he will.”
News broke on Friday that Bragg is close to indicting Trump over hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 campaign, allegedly to keep her quiet about an affair the two of them had in 2006.
Michael Cohen, a former attorney for Trump who testified before the grand jury in the investigation earlier this week, admitted guilt in 2018 to various offenses, including violating campaign finance laws by paying $130,000 to Daniels. Cohen, who was incarcerated for over a year, claims that he made the payment at Trump’s behest, The Hill noted.
Daniels, meanwhile, met with Manhattan prosecutors who are leading the probe on Wednesday, the outlet continued.
Trump acknowledged reimbursing Cohen for the payment, but insisted that it was not associated with his campaign funds. The Trump Organization classified the payment reimbursing Cohen as a legitimate expenditure. Others have noted as well that Trump self-funded his first campaign.
Trump last week declined an invitation to appear before the grand jury, which experts say was another sign of an impending indictment.
In response to the news, a spokesperson for Trump, Steven Cheung, issued a statement to Fox News Digital criticizing Bragg, calling his investigation a “witch hunt” and alleging that Bragg was under the influence of President Biden and “radical Democrats.”
“President Donald J. Trump is completely innocent, he did nothing wrong, and even the biggest, most Radical Left Democrats are making that clear,” Cheung said. “From Russia, Russia, Russia, to the Mueller Hoax, to Impeachment Hoaxes 1 and 2, and even the Unlawful Mar-a-Lago Raid, Democrats have investigated and attacked President Trump since before he was elected – and they’ve failed every time.
“Now Democrats are at it again, pushing the ‘Nuclear Button’ and attacking a President because of a disgraced extortionist,” he added. “This is happening because President Trump is leading in the polls by a large margin against both Democrats and Republicans, and there’s never been anything so blatant in American political history.”
Cheung continued: “Everyone knows it’s a sham. In fact, the Department of Justice stocked the DA’s office with top people from DC to help ‘Get Trump’ at a local level. Americans will not tolerate Radical Left Democrats turning our justice system into an injustice system to influence a presidential election, which is all they want to do. Our Country is not going to let this happen. This will backfire massively for the Democrat Party, and end in disgrace for our Nation.”
Tim Pool and crew react to reports Trump could be indicted next week:
"They're gonna perp-walk a former president over that? Wow…"
Read more: https://t.co/o61kMQEL9B pic.twitter.com/wIyRiUdALR
— Human Events (@HumanEvents) March 18, 2023
Reports on Saturday said that Bragg has been in talks with several law enforcement agencies ahead of an expected indictment and appearance in court by Trump.
“The agencies preparing are the NYPD, New York State Court Officers, the U.S. Secret Service, the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office,” the Western Journal reported, citing NBC News.
Sources familiar with the matter are stating that preparations are underway for Trump’s initial appearance at the Manhattan Criminal Court, the report continued.
