Trump claims he will be arrested. How we got here

(NewsNation) — On Monday, a lawyer who previously advised Trump’s longtime fixer Michael Cohen, appeared before a Manhattan grand jury that is considering potential charges against the former president.

Robert Costello, an attorney who advised Cohen before the two had a falling out, questioned the credibility of the Manhattan DA’s key witness in the case.

“Michael Cohen is far from solid evidence,” Costello told reporters Monday evening after testifying before the grand jury.

“The only thing I’m doing is trying to tell the truth to the grand jurors because I read all these lies in the media that are being promoted by one side,” said Costello.

Other legal experts have warned that Cohen’s credibility could make it difficult for prosecutors to win the case if charges are brought. Cohen is a convicted felon and has previously pleaded guilty to lying to Congress.

Just days earlier, it was seemingly business as usual for former President Donald Trump who attended a wrestling match in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and posed for the cameras with attendees.

You’d never guess that just hours earlier Trump would blast to the world on his social media platform, Truth Social, with no proof that New York officials intended to arrest him on Tuesday.

The arrest would be in regard to an alleged $130,000 “hush money” payment made through the former president’s attorney at the time, Michael Cohen, to porn star Stormy Daniels.

The money was allegedly in an attempt to bury her story of an affair with Trump.

Neither Trump’s attorney nor anyone from the New York district attorney’s office has been able to corroborate the claim the arrest would happen that day, and it is possible such action could be delayed since another witness is set to testify before the grand jury Monday.

But, the former president’s attorney acknowledged to NewsNation’s Dan Abrams that Trump would likely be indicted.

“It’s becoming more probable I think now,” he said.

The former president took aim at President Joe Biden, writing in a post on Truth Social that “Biden wants to pretend he has nothing to do with the Manhattan D.A.’s assault on democracy when, in fact, he has ‘stuffed’ the D.A.’s office with Department of Injustice people, including one top DOJ operative from D.C. who is actually running the ‘horseface’ witch hunt.”

Both the former president and his supporters claim the investigation wreaks of political motive.

The Manhattan D.A. leading the charge is Alvin Bragg, a former state and federal prosecutor who took office in 2022.

On day one he released a memo outlining his strategy which received some backlash, saying he would “not prosecute minor offenses that have no impact on public safety” to avoid over-incarceration in New York.

Yet while on the campaign trail en route to victory, he repeatedly boasted about suing former President Trump 100 times.

The DA’s office has not responded to NewsNation’s request for comment, but an internal note sent out by Bragg and acquired by Politico states “We do not tolerate attempts to intimidate our office or threaten the rule of law in New York“ adding, “As with all of our investigations, we will continue to apply the law evenly and fairly.”

That memo from Bragg did not name the former president directly but came out shortly after Trump called on his supporters to protest an indictment. As such, the city is preparing for possible demonstrations.

Trump’s former attorney and the prosecution’s so-called star witness, Michael Cohen, claims he believes Trump is seeking a “violent clash.”

But Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz told NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo that in his opinion the case just doesn’t look right.

“This is not what the criminal justice system is supposed to be. It’s not supposed to be creative,” he said. “It’s not supposed to bring different statutes together that have never been used against somebody.”

Trump insists no crime was committed. Still, there are many questions about what a possible indictment of a former president would look like since it’s never happened before.

Danya Perry, the former assistant attorney for the southern district of New York says don’t expect any fireworks.

“Former President Trump is not going to be dragged in front of a scrum of reporters,” Perry said. “There’s not gonna be a perp walk, he won’t be put in handcuffs, or shackles. He will self-surrender. If indeed president trump is charged with and convicted of any of these offenses that we’ve been talking about then he will be treated under the law just like anybody else.”