Federal law enforcement is preparing for mass chaos in New York City with a possible indictment of former President Trump, NBC News reports.
Five senior officials told the outlet local, state, and federal agencies are anticipating the possibility Trump could be indicted “as early as next week.”
Law enforcement agencies are conducting preliminary security assessments, the officials said, and are discussing potential security plans in and around the Manhattan Criminal Court, at 100 Centre Street, in case Trump is charged in connection with an alleged hush money payment to Stormy Daniels and travels to New York to face any charges.
The officials stress that the interagency conversations and planning are precautionary in nature because no charges have been filed.
The agencies involved include 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 officials said.
The Trump 2024 campaign called the case a “witch-hunt” in a statement Thursday.
“President Donald J. Trump is completely innocent, he did nothing wrong, and even the biggest, most Radical Left Democrats are making that clear,” Steven Chang, Trump 2024 spokesman said.
Legal experts cited by the Washington Post have noted the unusual nature of the case against Trump involving a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels by Michael Cohen, the disgraced lawyer who plead guilty to lying to Congress.
The case, which relies on testimony from Cohen, examines whether or not Trump broke campaign finance laws by reimbursing Cohen in “legal fees.”