Expert: Potential Trump arrest is ‘last thing this nation needs’

(NewsNation) — Former President Donald Trump claims he will be arrested Tuesday. Trump did not provide any specific proof of this, and his campaign communications director told NewsNation there has been “no notification” other than leaks to media outlets, that Trump’s arrest is imminent.

NewsNation senior political contributor George Will believes if Trump is arrested, it could be disastrous for the country.

“This is the last thing this nation needs at this point. In an era of collapsing trust on the part of the public in their institutions, to have a Democrat-elected that is a political prosecutor in New York, bringing a most implausible case against the ex-president,” Will said during an appearance on “NewsNation Prime.”

Will thinks if the former president is arrested, it will help him with his 2024 presidential bid.

“I think it helps Mr. Trump with his base. Now, his base is probably rock solid for him anyway, but this will simply ratchet up their intensity,” Will said. “If I were Mr. DeSantis, who is the chief rival at this moment for the Republican nomination, I would not feel good because he knows this is going to simply increase the temperature in the Republican nomination scramble.”

Trump has encouraged his supporters to “protest, protest, protest” his possible arrest. From a political standpoint, Will says Trump has been “lucky” in his adversaries.

“The mainstream media became his adversary. Now, we have what is going to look to his supporters, like a political prosecution. And, of course, it’s going to be right because this is a prosecution brought by, if it is brought, by an elected Democratic prosecutor who has effectively campaigned on this and promised to do this,” Will said. “This is not how justice is supposed to look in this country.”

Last week in an interview with NewsNation host Dan Abrams, one of Trump’s attorneys, Joe Tacopina, said an indictment against the former president is becoming “more probable.”

Tacopina is representing Trump in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s hush money investigation, which a grand jury heard evidence on recently. The investigation is centered around a $130,000 payment former Trump aide Michael Cohen made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the days leading up to the 2016 election to keep her from going public. Daniels claims she had an affair with Trump. The former president denies the allegation.

Some have questioned whether the $130,000 was related to Trump’s campaign and if the payment could be connected to a potential campaign finance violation.

Will does not think the potential case will startle people about Stormy Daniels, but believes it will make them take a closer look at campaign finances.

“This is, again, going to make even campaign finance regulation look, suspect in the ideas of thoughtful Americans. This is a case that people in the Justice Department at the federal level, contemplated making, looked at and said this is too flimsy to proceed with,” Will said.

If Trump happens to be indicted, he would become the first former president ever to face criminal charges.