Insider: Trump Could Be Indicted as Early as Monday

Former President Donald Trump could be indicted as early as Monday on charges stemming from alleged payments made to adult movie actress Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign, according to a person involved in the planning.

Law enforcement officials will meet at the New York Police Department headquarters in lower Manhattan on Monday afternoon to plan for the possible grand jury indictment, which is expected later in the day on Monday or on Wednesday, three people said to be involved in the deliberations told Politico.

"We'll be discussing how we bring Trump in," one of the sources said, but added that no decision had been made.

Officials from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office are to meet with members of the New York Police Department, the U.S. Secret Service, and court officers, the source said.

No charges have yet been filed, a court spokesperson said, and officials from the Secret Service and Bragg's office did not respond to requests for comment.

Trump announced Saturday on social media that he expects to be arrested Tuesday and called for protests.

But a NYPD spokesperson said the department's state of readiness remains "constant at all times, for all contingencies," including with partners in government and law enforcement.

Meanwhile, attorney Robert J. Costello, a former adviser for Trump's ex-lawyer, Michael Cohen, is to testify before the grand jury Monday. Cohen has said he'll be a rebuttal witness to Costello, who is expected to question his credibility.

In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to federal campaign finance violations that were tied to his arrangement of payments to Daniels and another woman to keep quiet about their claims of affairs they said they had with Trump.

He has maintained that Trump directed him to make the payments, but the former president has denied any wrongdoing.

The U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan has not charged Trump with a crime.

The New York probe is one of several legal inquiries Trump faces. He is also confronting a state-level criminal probe in Georgia over efforts to overturn the 2020 results in that state.

A special counsel named by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland is also currently investigating Trump's handling of classified government documents after leaving office and his efforts to reverse the results of his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden.

According to a court official speaking anonymously to Politico, once a sealed indictment is delivered to the judge, the DA's office will discuss Trump's surrender with his counsel, and if the former president does not surrender, a warrant will be issued.

It will be up to the DA's office whether to handcuff him if he's arrested. He would also have a mug shot taken and would be fingerprinted, but the official said there would not likely be a "perp-walk" or parade before the public.

Meanwhile, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Monday he hasn't met with Bragg, but he's ready for any contingencies, including protests.

"We're monitoring comments on social media, and the NYPD is doing their own role in making sure there's no inappropriate actions in the city, and we're confident we're going to be able to do that," Adams said Monday.

Members of the New York Young Republican Club, a Manhattan-based group, said it plans to hold a rally near the courthouse at 6 p.m. Monday, with group president Gavin Wax saying that the gathering will be peaceful.

"We think this is, no pun intended, a trumped-up political prosecution of the former president," he said.

However, there are some messaging on conservative internet sites where users have been calling for a "nationwide strike" that will allow "all patriots" to "bring society to a halt."

A leading Republican elected official in the state, who also spoke anonymously, said he isn't expecting large pro-Trump demonstrations, as "you'll get the same crazy couple dozen people and that's it. … There'll probably be more counter-protesters than protesters."