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Donald Trump claims probe into hush money payment to Stormy Daniels has been dropped by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg

The news comes just a week after Donald Trump claimed that he would be arrested within days
PUBLISHED MAR 27, 2023
Trump told reporters that the hush money case against him was dropped by Manhattan's DA (Michael M. Santiago, Scott Eisen/Getty Images;  Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images for Audio Up)
Trump told reporters that the hush money case against him was dropped by Manhattan's DA (Michael M. Santiago, Scott Eisen/Getty Images; Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images for Audio Up)

WACO, TEXAS: Former president of the United States, Donald Trump, has claimed that the investigation into the hush money payment to a porn star has been dropped by Manhattan's DA Alvin Bragg. This news comes just a week after he claimed that he would be arrested within days but for now, it seems that there has been a major turnaround in favor of the business tycoon.

On Saturday night, March 25, Trump told a small group of reporters aboard his private jet that the prosecutors would be left with no other choice but to give up in the face of recent evidence. As he traveled back from the first rally of his campaign in Waco, Texas, the 76-year-old cut a relaxed figure with a bottle of Diet Coke by his side.

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What did Trump say?

"I have no idea what's going to happen..." he said according to Daily Mail. "I think they've already dropped the case. From what I understand ... I think it's been dropped. But I believe that if anything ever happened with the case, it's a fake case." Trump told fans in Waco that Bragg had 'nothing' on him earlier on Saturday. He insisted that a $130,000 payment that he made to the former pornstar Stormy Daniels weeks before the October 2016 election was not a campaign finance violation. The former president also denied a 2006 one-night-stand with the adult entertainer.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks at a press conference after the sentencing hearing of the Trump Organization at the New York Supreme Court on January 13, 2023 in New York City. A jury last month found the Trump Organization guilty and convicted the organization on charges of conspiracy, criminal tax fraud, falsifying business records, and filing false tax returns in a scheme to defraud the state. The organization was sentenced to pay the maximum fine of $1.6 million dollars. The case is unrelated to the civil case being brought by NY Attorney General Letitia James against the Trump Organization.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks at a press conference after the sentencing hearing of the Trump Organization at the New York Supreme Court on January 13, 2023, in New York City (Michael M Santiago/Getty Images)

Despite claiming that he would be arrested, Trump spent the days following his usual routine of heading to his West Palm Beach golf course, maintaining a picture of business as usual. On Saturday, after addressing a crowd of around 25,000 people in Waco, he ridiculed any idea that the probe had been a distraction.

"I'm not frustrated by anything," he said in response to a question. "I just did a speech for two hours. I'm not first frustrated to do that. I just had polls that came out where I'm 40 points ahead. See, this is what I hate about fake news."

Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before his speech at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center on March 4, 2023 in National Harbor, Maryland. Trump took questions from reporters over a range of topics including on the progress of his campaign and his opinions on the war in Ukraine. Conservatives gathered at the four-day annual conference to discuss the agenda of the Republican Party.
Former US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before his speech at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center on March 4, 2023, in National Harbor, Maryland (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Trump says the case was politically motivated

Trump said that the hush money scandal was made up and politically motivated which was used to raise money. His claims were even backed up by New York's former governor Andrew Cuomo, an avowed Democrat, saying that he thinks the case against Trump is political.

Trump further added he was convinced that testimony from lawyer Robert Costello had thrown doubt on evidence given by his former fixer Michael Cohen, who said he made the payment and was then reimbursed by Trump. He said the emergence of a letter by Cohen's lawyer, stating in 2018 that Cohen had not been reimbursed, had destroyed the case against him. "Two of the most respected lawyers in the country, one wrote a letter about Cohen which made him want to be a liar," said Trump. "The other one did even more so he went before the grand jury and he explained that this guy was a liar."

Stormy Daniels attends the Los Angeles Premiere Of Neon's
Stormy Daniels attends the Los Angeles Premiere Of Neon's 'Pleasure' at Linwood Dunn Theater on May 11, 2022, in Los Angeles, California (JC Olivera/Getty Images)

The ex-president was accused of going too far when he shared a picture of himself wielding a baseball bat next to an image of the Manhattan prosecutor. Besides, Trump also warned of 'death' and 'destruction.'

Violence was not the answer

Trump clarified to the reporters who were traveling with him on Saturday that violence was not the answer. "I don't like violence and I'm not for violence," he said. "But a lot of people are upset and you know they rigged an election, they stole an election, they spied on my campaign. They did many bad things. They did a fake dossier."

He even referenced the case during his 90-minute speech in Waco, along with other probes and investigations he has faced since winning the 2016 election. "The Biden regime's weaponization of law enforcement against their political opponents is something straight out of the Stalinist Russia horror show," he said. "From the beginning it's been one witch hunt and phony investigation after another." 

Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at the Waco Regional Airport on March 25, 2023 in Waco, Texas. Former U.S. president Donald Trump attended and spoke at his first rally since announcing his 2024 presidential campaign. Today in Waco also marks the 30 year anniversary of the weeks deadly standoff involving Branch Davidians and federal law enforcement. 82 Davidians were killed, and four agents left dead.
Former US President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at the Waco Regional Airport on March 25, 2023, in Waco, Texas (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Even before his plane landed in Texas, Trump's choice of location and timing triggered controversy. The rally comes amid the 30th anniversary of the Waco siege, a 51-day standoff that ended with a raid by federal agents on the Branch Davidians religious sect there that resulted in 86 deaths. The area has become a hotspot for far-right groups since then.

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