NYC Preparing for Possible Protests as Trump Says Arrest is Imminent Transcript

Former President Trump says his arrest is imminent, and now, New York City is getting ready, as Trump calls once again for protests.

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Good evening, thanks for joining us. I’m Jessica Moore. The NYPD is stepping up enforcement ahead of Tuesday, that’s when former President Trump says he will be arrested. Manhattan’s district attorney is eyeing charges in that hush money investigation, and as CBS2’s Jennifer Bisram reports, there are now safety concerns around the city.

We have never gotten this close to an indictment of a former president.

The pending indictments stem from the Manhattan District Attorney’s investigation into alleged hush money payments from former President Donald Trump to women who say they had sexual encounters with him, including adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Trump denies the encounters occurred.

I think this is an effort that’s ongoing, never ending, to destroy Donald Trump.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, standing by Trump Saturday, even after his Truth Social post urging his supporters to protest, and “Take our nation back.” Former vice president Mike Pence called a potential indictment “Troubling.”

The idea of indicting a former President of the United States is steeply troubling to me, as it is to tens of millions of Americans, and particularly happening in what appears to be a politically-charged environment in New York.

Trump’s attorney told CBS his post was based off media leaks and speculation, not from the DA’s office, adding, “President Trump is rightfully highlighting his innocence, and the weaponization of our injustice system.” His legal team has maintained the former president would surrender to charges if and when they come. Political strategist Basil Smikle.

Really, what he’s doing is trying to head off any potential indictment by rallying his troops. There is a lot of concern that his words still will incite some significant activity, potentially some violence.

In a tweet, Republican house speaker Kevin McCarthy called it an outrageous abuse of power by a radical DA. Former Democratic House speaker Nancy Pelosi weighed in, saying, “No one is above the law, not even a former President of the United States.” In the meantime, law enforcement is stepping up security in the city in preparation for possible backlash.

If this indictment does come to fruition, we are all in uncharted territory. It’s going to be really difficult to talk about or predict what comes next, because we’ve never, in the history of the United States of America, been in this situation

It’s still unclear when the Manhattan District Attorney’s case against Trump will wrap up. What we do know, at least one more witness is expected to testify next week. We did reach out to the DA’s office. We were told, “No comment.” Jessica.

All right Jennifer, thank you. Just moments ago, we learned DA Bragg sent an internal memo addressing some safety concerns to his staff ahead of this week’s potential protest. He said he has confidence in the NYPD, and any threat against his office will be investigated.