US officials beef up security around New York ahead of possible Donald Trump’s indictment

Former US president Donald Trump will surrender to face criminal charges if he is indicted by a Manhattan grand jury in a probe related to hush money paid to women who allegedly had sexual encounters with him, his lawyer told CNBC.

Joseph Tacopina, Trump’s lawyer, made these remarks amidst reports that federal and local law enforcement agencies are tightening security in New York for the possibility that Trump will be indicted as early as next week.

“Will follow normal procedures if it gets to that point,” Tacopina was quoted as saying by CNBC.

There has been no confirmation on the possibility of Trump’s arrest, but the AP news agency, citing the unnamed law enforcement officials, reported that the authorities are preparing in case of an indictment.

They said that these discussions are in a preliminary stage and are considering security, planning and the practicalities of a potential court appearance by a former president.

The Manhattan jury has been hearing from witnesses, including Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen, who says he orchestrated payments in 2016 to two women to silence them about sexual encounters they said they had with Trump a decade earlier.

Trump denies these charges, saying that he is innocent and has dubbed the investigation as a “witch hunt” by a Democratic prosecutor hellbent on sabotaging the Republican’s 2024 presidential campaign.

“Democrats have investigated and attacked President Trump since before he was elected — and they’ve failed every time,” campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement Thursday about the inquiry.

Among the witnesses who have met with prosecutors in recent weeks are Stormy Daniels, pornographic film actress, and at least two former Trump aides — onetime political adviser Kellyanne Conway and former spokesperson Hope Hicks.

(With inputs from agencies)

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