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Donald Trump is repeatedly attacking Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and called for his supporters to protest his apparently upcoming arrest because the former president has "no legal strategy" to fight the allegations in the hush money probe, according to a top attorney.
Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General Harry Litman made the remark while promoting his latest Talking Feds podcast episode in which he and his guests discussed Trump facing an indictment in New York.
Last week, Trump called for his supporters to protest while claiming he is set to be arrested on March 21, as part of Bragg's inquiry into the $130,000 payment Trump allegedly told his former attorney, Michael Cohen to pay Stormy Daniels.
Trump was accused by Democrats of trying to incite his supporters to carry out violence as he faces becoming the first president in United States history to be arrested. Trump has since said on Truth Social there will be "death and destruction" should he be charged as part of the Daniels hush money investigation, while calling Bragg a "degenerate psychopath that truly hates the USA!"
The money paid to Daniels was to keep secret an alleged affair between the former adult film actress and Trump ahead of the 2016 election, with prosecutors arguing it may amount to a campaign violation. Trump denies wrongdoing and denies having an affair with Daniels.
"With indictments closing in, Trump has no real legal strategy. Instead, he's trying to incite his base to violent civil disobedience. It's a volatile situation," Litman tweeted.
During the episode of Talking Feds, former attorney and CNN senior legal analyst Laura Coates said that the "apocalyptic language" and wrong arrest date prediction was a "publicity stunt" for Trump and to create a "litmus test" of the reaction.
"One, a litmus test of the media—would they bite? Newsflash, they did. Second part, would those who support him in the sense that would they demonstrate that they still support him and believe him?" Coates said.
"Third litmus test has been congressional and those who are elected officials to figure out what they would say when the inevitable microphone went right back in front of their faces to say, 'here's what Trump had to say, now react to it.'"
A host of MAGA Republicans and Trump loyalists spoke out against the apparently looming indictment Trump is facing following the former president's arrest speculation. Notably, former Vice President Mike Pence, whose relationship with Trump fell apart in the wake of the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, also criticized Bragg's investigation into Trump.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, seen as the biggest challenger to Trump in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, was silent for the first few days about Trump's potential arrest. When he eventually publicly spoke about the matter, DeSantis attacked Bragg as being a [George] Soros-funded prosecutor," while also appearing to relish Trump's legal predicament.
"I don't know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair," DeSantis told reporters at an event in Panama City, Florida. "I just, I can't speak to that."
Newsweek reached out to Trump's office via email for comment.
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, and Florida ... Read more