New York and federal law enforcement officials are planning a meeting to discuss security concerns around a possible indictment of former President Donald Trump in Manhattan, a person familiar with the matter said.
The person, who requested anonymity because the discussions weren’t public, stressed that the planning was precautionary and shouldn’t be taken as an indication that Trump will be charged.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Secret Service were on Thursday invited to a meeting along with the New York Police Department, court officials and prosecutors, the person said. The meeting hasn’t yet been scheduled but was proposed for early next week.
Law enforcement not only wants to discuss how to safeguard the former president, should he be charged, but also review issues like whether or not to handcuff Trump and if the Secret Service would maintain custody over him during court proceedings, the person said. There would also be the possibility of both pro-and anti-Trump demonstrators.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is conducting a grand jury investigation of a hush-money payment Trump allegedly made to porn star Stormy Daniels to keep her from going public before the 2016 election about an alleged decade-old sexual encounter.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing and called Bragg’s investigation “a political witch hunt.”
In an interview on Friday, Trump lawyer Joseph Tacopina said Trump would surrender if charged. “There won’t be a standoff,” Tacopina said.
A spokeswoman for Bragg declined comment, as did a spokesman for the FBI’s New York office. The police department and a spokesman for the courts didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. NBC News first reported the planned security meeting.
Bragg’s Lower Manhattan offices are located in a complex of state and federal courthouses and buildings clustered around Foley Square, which has also been the site of numerous public demonstrations.
