Officials make security preparations if Trump indicted

NEW YORK – Law enforcement officials in New York are preparing security for the possibility that Donald Trump could be indicted in the coming weeks by a Manhattan grand jury and appear in court as part of an investigation into money paid to women who alleged sex with the former president, four law enforcement officials said on Friday.

There has been no public announcement of a timeline for the secret grand jury work, including any potential vote on indicting the ex-president.

Law enforcement officials, who were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said authorities were just bracing for indictments. They described the conversations as preliminary and are considering the security, planning and practicalities of a possible court appearance by a former president.

Trump’s attorney, Joseph Tacopina, had no comment.

The grand jury heard from witnesses, including former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, who claims he orchestrated payments in 2016 to two women to silence them about sexual encounters they said they had with Trump a decade ago. earlier. Trump denies the encounters happened, says he did nothing wrong and called the investigation a “witch hunt” by a Democratic prosecutor determined to sabotage the 2024 Republican presidential campaign.