Donald Trump says he expects to be arrested for a silent payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
The former US president said “illegal leaks” from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office indicated he would be arrested on Tuesday.
Making the statement on his Truth Social platform, Mr. Trump offered no evidence that he was directly told of an impending arrest and did not say how he knew about those plans.
Law enforcement is preparing for a possible indictment of Mr. Trump as early as next week, NBC News reports.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office declined to comment on Mr Trump’s claim and a spokesperson for the former president did not respond when contacted.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has apparently investigated whether payments made to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal in 2016 violated state laws.
The Manhattan grand jury heard from witnesses, including former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, who claims he orchestrated payments to the women to silence them about sexual encounters they said they had with Mr Trump a decade earlier.
Mr. Bragg’s office is also reportedly looking into how Mr. Trump’s company compensated Mr. Cohen for his work.
Mr Cohen was jailed for three years in 2018 after admitting to making the payments.
Michael Cohen
He also pleaded guilty to tax evasion and lying to Congress about the scope of negotiations between the Trump Organization and a project to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.
Mr Cohen has claimed Mr Trump ordered him to make the payments worth $280,000 (£230,000) to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal – which the former president denies.
