Donald Trump posted a video on Truth Social on Monday night attacking the four criminal investigations into his actions – as a possible indictment over the hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels looms.
In the scathing late-night video – where the former president looking exceptionally tanned stood against a backdrop of the US flag – he took aim at what he claimed to be the “most disgusting witchhunt in the history of our country”.
“These four horrible radical left Democrat investigations of your all time, favourite president – me – is just a continuation of the most disgusting witchhunts in the history of our country,” he fumed.
“It’s an absolute disgrace. Whether it's the Mar-a-Lago raid, the unselect-Committee hoax, the perfect Georgia phone call that was absolutely perfect, or the Stormy ‘horseface’ Daniels extortion plot... They’re all sick and it’s fake news.”
Mr Trump vowed to “defeat” the investigations and claimed that he was “standing in the way” of political “enemies” for his supporters.
“They are not coming after me – they are coming after you. I’m just standing in their way. And I always will stand in their way,” he said.
The video was one of a whole trove of posts Mr Trump made on Truth Social on Monday night – as he reTruthed his own posts from earlier in the day and shared several clips of Fox News hosts such as Tucker Carlson condemning his potential historic indictment.
Mr Trump claimed on his Truth Social platform on Saturday that he was expecting to be arrested on Tuesday following the investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office.
In a characteristic full-caps rant, he fumed about what he claims is “a corrupt & highly political Manhattan district attorney’s office” and called on his supporters to protest.
“NOW ILLEGAL LEAKS FROM A CORRUPT & HIGHLY POLITICAL MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEYS OFFICE, WHICH HAS ALLOWED NEW RECORDS TO BE SET IN VIOLENT CRIME & WHOSE LEADER IS FUNDED BY GEORGE SOROS, INDICATE THAT, WITH NO CRIME BEING ABLE TO BE PROVEN, & BASED ON AN OLD & FULLY DEBUNKED (BY NUMEROUS OTHER PROSECUTORS!) FAIRYTALE, THE FAR & AWAY LEADING REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE & FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WILL BE ARRESTED ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK. PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!” he wrote on Truth Social.
His comments instantly drew comparisons to his rhetoric in the aftermath of his 2020 presidential election loss – rhetoric that ultimately culminated in the January 6 Capitol riots.
Mr Trump’s legal team later walked back the former president’s timeline for an arrest, confirming that they have not been notified that he will be indicted – or given a time for if or when it could happen.
However, a Tuesday indictment appears unlikely.
Politico reported on Monday night that the grand jury will not return until Wednesday – which means that an indictment will not come until Wednesday at the earliest.
And a source told Fox News that another witness is expected to testify before the grand jury on Wednesday.
It is not clear who the witness is.
However it comes after Robert Costello – a Mr Trump ally and critic of Michael Cohen – gave testimony before the grand jury on Monday.
Mr Costello, an attorney who once worked as a legal adviser to Cohen who has previously represented Mr Trump allies Steve Bannon and Rudy Giuliani, testified at the request of the former president’s legal team.
After more than two hours of testimony, Mr Costello told reporters outside the DA’s office in Manhattan that he contradicted public statements Cohen has made about the payments to Ms Daniels and cast doubts on his credibility.
“If they want to go after Donald Trump and they have solid evidence then so be it,” he said.
“But Michael Cohen is far from solid evidence.”
In an interview withThe New York Times, he said he told the grand jury that Cohen “couldn’t tell the truth if you put a gun to his head”.
Cohen, Mr Trump’s former “fixer” and the prosecutors’ star witness in the case, revealed on Sunday that he has been asked to make himself available as a rebuttal witness on Monday.
New York officials are bracing for potential protests or unrest if or when an indictment lands.
Local, state and federal law enforcement agencies have been preparing security plans, including additional security around the Manhattan Criminal Court where Mr Trump could appear to face charges.
While several Republicans have slammed the potential indictment of Mr Trump, many have also revealed that they don’t support Mr Trump’s calls for protests.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and MAGA Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene said they did not think Americans should protest an indictment and said that Mr Trump wants peace.
Manhattan prosecutors have been investigating whether Mr Trump falsified the Trump Organization’s business records when Mr Trump’s former lawyer and “fixer” Michael Cohen made a payment of $130,0000 to Ms Daniels days before the 2016 election.
Prosecutors claim that the money was used to silence Ms Daniels about an alleged affair she had with Mr Trump.
Mr Trump has long denied having an affair with the adult film star.
Mr Trump’s former fixer and personal attorney Michael Cohen was convicted of tax evasion, lying to Congress and campaign finance violations related to the payments to Ms Daniels. He was sentenced to three years in prison.
Last week Ms Daniels and Cohen both testified before the grand jury last week.
Mr Trump had also been invited by the Manhattan DA to testify – an invitation he unsurprisingly turned down.
While it was an invitation he was unlikely to accept, it sent the clearest signal to date that he could be criminally indicted.
Under New York law, a person has a right to appear before a grand jury before a prosecutor asks the grand jury to indict them on charges.
If prosecuted, Mr Trump would become the first former president in American history to face criminal charges.
