Biden on Trump indictment: I have faith in U.S. legal system, New York police

MINNEAPOLIS —  President Biden told reporters Monday that he is confident New York City police can handle any unrest surrounding former President Trump’s planned arrest in Manhattan on Tuesday.

“I have faith in the New York Police Department,” Biden said.

The president, speaking to reporters during a trip to Minneapolis to promote the bipartisan infrastructure bill he signed in 2021, was careful to not weigh in on the Manhattan case. Asked whether he had faith in the U.S. legal system, he gave a one-word answer: “Yes.”

Prosecutors in Manhattan have been investigating Trump’s alleged entanglement with hush money that his former fixer, Michael Cohen, paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Cohen was convicted of a variety of crimes after admitting to paying Daniels $130,000 with the expectation she would stay quiet about a sexual encounter she had with Trump in the early 2000s.

Trump repaid Cohen through his business, the Trump Organization, and labeled the expense as “legal fees,” despite Cohen performing no legal work during that time.

Falsifying business records is a misdemeanor under New York state law. Manhattan Dist. Atty. Alvin Bragg is also reportedly planning to charge Trump with at least one felony.

House Republicans have declared the probe an abuse of power and demanded prosecutors hand over documents. In a March letter, Bragg said he would not share the records, calling the Republicans’ request an “unlawful incursion.”

Last month, Trump warned of “potential death and destruction” if he was indicted.