Former US President Donald Trump has caused a stir by suggesting he expects to be arrested on Tuesday, and urging his supporters to launch mass protests.
However, his lawyer Susan Necheles has said there has been no communication from law enforcement, and Trump’s post was based on media reports.
Prosecutors have been investigating possible indictments against Trump, which could come as early as next week.
These relate to allegations that hush money was paid to former porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election.
This would be the first criminal case ever brought against a former US president.
Trump denies any wrongdoing and has pledged to continue campaigning for the 2024 presidential election, even if indicted.
It is unknown if Trump will face charges this week or what they might be.
His loyal base of supporters has been known to escalate situations into violence, and any indictment would create a complicated calculation for his rivals in the Republican Party.
The Stormy Daniels case has progressed earlier this month, with Trump being invited to testify to a grand jury, indicating he could soon face criminal charges.
The hearings are held in secret, and several former aides of Trump have reportedly testified in this case.
US media organisations say law enforcement agencies in New York are preparing for the possibility of Trump being indicted and appearing in a Manhattan courtroom as early as next week.
According to the Associated Press, they are considering the practicalities of taking a former president into court, including questions around security.
Trump also faces a separate criminal investigation over efforts to overturn his narrow loss in the state of Georgia in the 2020 presidential election.
The Department of Justice is also looking at whether classified government documents were handled incorrectly after Trump left office, as well as broader efforts to undermine the results of the presidential election three years ago – including the 6 January attack on the US Capitol by his supporters following his repeated calls to protest.
The Republican Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, has criticized the investigation, calling it “an outrageous abuse of power by a radical DA [district attorney]”.
In a tweet, he also promised to investigate whether federal money was being used to interfere in elections “with politically motivated prosecutions”.
If Trump is indicted, it would create a challenging situation for his rivals within the Republican Party, who would have to decide whether to increase their attacks on the former president or keep their heads down and hope for the best.
However, history has shown that such efforts to investigate Trump tend to make him more popular with his base, so an indictment could have a similar effect.
