(MENAFN) Former President Donald Trump is currently meeting with his team, including his lawyers and senior advisers from his campaign operation, at his private club at Mar-a-Lago as he awaits a possible indictment in New York City. According to sources close to Trump, if an indictment is handed down, he would fly from Mar-a-Lago to New York and turn himself in. Trump is considering making a statement in front of the Manhattan Criminal Court before turning himself in.
The Manhattan district attorney has been investigating whether Trump was involved in allegedly falsifying business records to hide campaign finance violations tied to payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has been probing whether Trump violated New York bookkeeping law by allegedly directing Michael Cohen to pay Daniels in exchange for her silence ahead of the 2016 election.
Trump posted on social media over the weekend that he expected to be arrested this week by the Manhattan district attorney, but did not provide any details about what the charges would be. Trump's team has been planning since last week for an aggressive public relations push and has added more personnel involved in other Trump-related investigations into the mix. The Trump operation will also supply surrogates for counter messaging.
While some of Trump's advisers believe the Manhattan investigation and the possible indictment could help him politically with his base, it's an issue that may divide Republicans. Trump has a base that will continue to support him in the face of any criminal charge against him, but for others who approve of his policies, it would be a reminder that there may be other candidates in the party who don't face the same kinds of legal challenges.
The campaign has already sent about a dozen fundraising emails referring to the possible indictment, and Trump posted a 60-second video attacking Bragg on his social media platform on Monday. However, the issue of a possible indictment may not be a winning strategy for Trump, as some potential Republican rivals have already denounced Bragg's investigation. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, for example, put it Monday, "I don't know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair. I just can't speak to that."
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