Trump Should Be 'Worried' About Potential New York Indictment: Dershowitz

Donald Trump should be "worried" about a potential indictment from New York prosecutors over his alleged role in the payment of hush money to pornographic actress Stormy Daniels, according to a top legal expert.

The comment was made by Alan Dershowitz, a former lecturer at Harvard's prestigious law school, who was part of the former president's defense team during his first impeachment trial in 2020.

Earlier this month, The New York Times revealed Trump had been invited to discuss allegations against him before a Manhattan grand jury, with the paper saying that such such moves "almost always indicate" that an indictment is close. If this action is taken Trump would be the first former U.S. president to be indicted, complicating his bid to make a White House return following the 2024 presidential election.

Investigators are looking into a $130,000 payment paid to Daniels by Trump lawyer Michael Cohen on behalf of the former president in order to keep an alleged affair between the adult film star and Trump secret in the run-up to the 2016 election.

Prosecutors at the Manhattan District Attorney's office are investigating allegations the hush money amounted to an improper campaign contribution, or if any state laws were broken in reimbursing Cohen the money he paid Daniels.

Trump has strongly denied the allegations that he broke electoral law with the payments, or that he had an affair with Daniels, insisting "I did NOTHING wrong," on his Truth Social website.

Trump, in posts on his Truth Social platform on Saturday, called for protests and predicted that he will be arrested on Tuesday in relation to the investigation.

Appearing on Fox News on Friday, Dershowitz argued Trump is likely to be indicted in New York because of the city's left-leaning politics, while urging Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg not to take that step.

He said: "I don't think there will be a motion to dismiss that succeeds. This is New York justice. In New York of course you can indict a ham sandwich, but in New York you can also convict a ham sandwich because the jury pool will be very much against Trump and the judges will be very much against Trump.

"So if I were him, I would be worried today. He'll probably ultimately win on appeal but do judges today have the courage, if they run for election as prosecutors run for election, to do something favorable to Trump in a city which overwhelmingly despises Trump? That's what's wrong with this justice system."

"That's why Bragg shouldn't be asking the question 'Can I indict?' He should be asking the question 'Should I indict?' And the answer to that question is categorically 'no'," he added.

Newsweek has contacted Trump for comment via his official website.

Glenn Kirschner, a former federal prosecutor turned legal analyst, has also argued an indictment against Trump is close, describing the invitation to appear before a Manhattan grand jury as the "last stop before an indictment."

Trump is also facing investigations into his role in efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election result in Georgia, the events surrounding the January 6, 2021 storming of Congress by his supporters, and his handling of classified documents.