New York prosecutor said Trump gave ‘false expectation’ of arrest
- Manhattan district attorney’s office rejects demands from Republican lawmakers about its investigation of Donald Trump
- Former US president Trump had earlier claimed he would be arrested on Tuesday, sparking a media frenzy
Donald Trump created a “false expectation” of his imminent arrest, the New York prosecutor investigating the ex-president over hush money said, as tensions build over a possible indictment.
The comments come amid uncertainty over when a grand jury hearing the case will take a vote on charging Trump, a historic move that would inflame the 2024 election campaign in which the 76-year-old Republican is running to regain office.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office made the remarks in a letter sent to three Republican lawmakers who had written to Bragg requesting that he testify before Congress about his probe.
The Republicans – who are all chairmen of House committees – accused Bragg, a Democrat, of waging a “politically motivated prosecution” in their letter dated on Monday.
It was sent after Trump had said on Saturday, without providing any evidence, that he expected to be arrested on Tuesday, and called for supporters to “Protest, take our nation back!”
“Your letter … is an unprecedented inquiry into a pending local prosecution,” Leslie Dubeck, the general counsel for Bragg’s office wrote in Thursday’s response, seen by Agence France-Presse.