OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Amid talk that he may be indicted next week, the 2024 campaign of former President Donald Trump made a major announcement on Friday.
The first major rally of the campaign will be held in the friendly red state of Texas, which Trump won handily in 2016 and 2020. Campaign officials said that there will be an evening rally in Waco on March 25.
“Trump spent the first months of his campaign mostly confined to his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, but has begun to make visits to early-voting states. On Monday, he took his first trip to Iowa, which will hold the Republican Party’s first nominating contest,” The Associated Press reported.
News of Trump’s first big rally comes as several law enforcement agencies are reportedly preparing for a potential indictment of him as early as next week.
“The agencies preparing are the NYPD, New York State Court Officers, the U.S. Secret Service, the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office,” the Western Journal reported, citing NBC News.
Sources familiar with the matter are stating that preparations are underway for Trump’s initial appearance at the Manhattan Criminal Court, the report continued.
The possible indictment is linked to the investigation that has been ongoing for several years concerning Trump’s alleged involvement in a hush money scandal with adult film actress Stormy Daniels. In the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election, Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, sent $130,000 to Daniels to keep quiet about her affair with Trump in 2006. Trump later repaid Cohen in installments, Fox News noted.
Trump took to his Truth Social platform to respond, in all caps, to news of the potential indictment.
“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.
Steven Cheung, a spokesman for the former president, also issued a statement to Fox News Digital criticizing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for allegedly preparing to bring the indictment, calling his investigation a “witch hunt” and alleging that Bragg was under the influence of President Biden and “radical Democrats.”
“President Donald J. Trump is completely innocent, he did nothing wrong, and even the biggest, most Radical Left Democrats are making that clear,” Cheung said. “From Russia, Russia, Russia, to the Mueller Hoax, to Impeachment Hoaxes 1 and 2, and even the Unlawful Mar-a-Lago Raid, Democrats have investigated and attacked President Trump since before he was elected – and they’ve failed every time.
“Now Democrats are at it again, pushing the ‘Nuclear Button’ and attacking a President because of a disgraced extortionist,” he added. “This is happening because President Trump is leading in the polls by a large margin against both Democrats and Republicans, and there’s never been anything so blatant in American political history.”
Cheung continued: “Everyone knows it’s a sham. In fact, the Department of Justice stocked the DA’s office with top people from DC to help ‘Get Trump’ at a local level. Americans will not tolerate Radical Left Democrats turning our justice system into an injustice system to influence a presidential election, which is all they want to do. Our Country is not going to let this happen. This will backfire massively for the Democrat Party, and end in disgrace for our Nation.”
No former president has ever been charged with a crime, much less convicted, in the history of the nation.
As for the Secret Service, by law, the agency is charged with protecting current and former presidents, which would explain its involvement in any process to have Trump indicted. It’s not clear what role the agency would play if Trump were actually to be locked up.
