Haberman: Trump ‘very anxious’ about potential indictment in New York

New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman on Sunday said former President Trump is “very anxious” about possibly being indicted as part of a New York probe into an alleged hush-money payment to adult-film star Stormy Daniels.

Trump posted on Truth Social Saturday to say he thinks he’ll be arrested on Tuesday as the Manhattan district attorney’s office pursues the payment that came amid his 2016 presidential run. “Protest, take our nation back!” Trump wrote.

“He’s very anxious about the prospect of being indicted for a couple of reasons,” Haberman, a CNN political analyst, said of the former president on the network’s “State of the Union.”

Haberman, who has covered Trump extensively, said Trump is aware that the situation could give him a political boost, but was still not “excited” about facing a possible indictment and arrest.

“Yes, two things can be true at once. He is aware that there are reasons to believe this could help him politically … But he does not want to face getting arrested, which is what happens when you get indicted. You get fingerprinted. You get brought in. You have to ask for bail. None of that is something that he is excited about,” Haberman said.

Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen said on Sunday the ex-president would “absolutely” go through the formalities of being fingerprinted and photographed if he is arrested in the hush-money case.

Haberman said Trump and his political team are “preparing for a huge blitz politically to push back on the Manhattan district attorney,” though she added she doesn’t think Trump’s recent posts on Truth Social calling for his supporters to protest was part of “a grand plan.”

“He did it, and a bunch of his aides were surprised by it,” Haberman said of Trump’s post. “But I do think that that is separate from what you’re going to see legally. And while I know that his folks are suggesting this as a weak case, they don’t actually know what the evidence is.”

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