Former President Donald Trump warned of “potential death and destruction” in the wake of his possible indictment Friday morning.
“What kind of person can charge another person, in this case a former President of the United States, who got more votes than any sitting President in history, and leading candidate (by far!) for the Republican Party nomination, with a Crime, when it is known by all that NO Crime has been committed, & also known that potential death & destruction in such a false charge could be catastrophic for our Country?” Trump wrote in a post at 1 a.m.
Trump first posted Saturday that he was expecting to be arrested on Tuesday, and rallied his supporters to protest.
The potential indictment related to Trump’s team allegedly paying hush money to Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. The grand jury deliberating Trump’s indictment did not meet on Wednesday and Thursday as scheduled, pushing the possible indictment to next Monday at the earliest.
The indictment of Trump on charges relating to Daniels may be legally fraught, as Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg would have to tie Trump’s alleged hush money to a second crime for the alleged crime to be a felony charge, The New York Times reported. (RELATED: Some Democrats View Potential Trump Indictment As Risky, ‘Big Boost’ In Primaries)
The second crime could be an alleged violation of New York State election law — as the alleged hush money was paid before the 2016 election — but that tie would be a “novel legal theory for any criminal case,” particularly for a former president, according to the outlet.