Donald Trump likely to be arrested New York today

Former US President Donald Trump is likely to be arrested in New York today over an alleged hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. Reportedly, the transaction was done during his campaign in 2016.

On Monday, workers erected barricades around a Manhattan courthouse as the city braced for a possible indictment of Donald Trump. This marks the first-ever criminal case against any U.S. president.

Meanwhile, Trump urged his followers, on Saturday, to protest against the “looming” arrest. In his call for protests, the politician raised concerns about law enforcement and that his supporters might engage in violence similar to the Jan 6, 2021- attack on the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

According to security analysts, several far-right grassroots groups have opted to not heed his call as they fear it could be a trap.

A grand jury was set to hear the testimony of Trump on Monday, however, they are yet to bring charges against him. The jurisdiction could be revealed as soon as this week and is most likely to be against the businessman. Moreover, Trump, who is seeking the Republican nomination for the White House again in 2024, had predicted he would be arrested on Tuesday.

A witness, lawyer Robert Costello, on Monday addressed the jury and said that Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen had handled the hush-money payments without Trump’s involvement.

Michael Cohen, who has surrendered to the law, testified twice before the grand jury and admitted to having made the payments on Trump’s behalf.

The investigation on this matter is handled by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and the case is one of several legal challenges Trump is facing. The lawyer’s office has currently refused to comment on the case.

In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to federal campaign finance violations tied to his arranging payments to Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford. Apart from her, another payment was made to another woman in exchange for their silence about the affairs they claimed with Trump.

Trump has, however, denied that any such affairs ever took place.