Trump-Era Chief of Staff Says Indictment Against The Donald 'Inevitable' Amid Grand Jury Wait

Mulvaney previously served as a US representative for South Carolina, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, and as an acting White House chief of staff during the Trump administration.

Trump-era Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney recently acknowledged that it was inevitable former US President Donald Trump would be indicted by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office over 2016 hush payments.

“I do,” Mick Mulvaney told US media when asked if he thinks it is inevitable that Trump will be indicted. “I think the political pressure is such, the timing is such, I think that the statute of limitations in this case runs in May, I do think he’s going to be indicted.”

The former president is currently under investigation for a $130,000 hush money payment that was made on his behalf to the adult film actress Stormy Daniels in order to keep her from detailing an alleged 2006 sexual encounter she had with Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign.

“I don’t understand the ‘arrest’ part; whether or not he’ll surrender himself—whether or not they’ll require him to surrender himself—whether or not they’ll make any special accommodation for him because he is the former president of the United States and because he does have secret service protection 24 hours a day,” said Mulvaney in Thursday’s interview.

“But I absolutely expect an indictment, there’s no reason to go this far down the path if you are Mr. Bragg, the district attorney of Manhattan, and not bring criminal charges."

When asked if the former president wants to be indicted, Mulvaney explains that this is a rare case in which the extreme left and the extreme right “want the same thing.”

“The left want to see him frog marched in his orange jumpsuit and the right wants to see him arrested because they think it will show that this has been a political witch hunt the whole time, and they think it will make Trump more sympathetic.”

Mulvaney further admitted that polling data has supported his theory as theoretical primary numbers have increased in favor of Trump in recent weeks; however, it's also worth noting that Trump has also managed to fundraise some $1.5 million since his weekend announcement on a potential arrest.

The Manhattan grand jury investigating Trump’s role in the hush money payment scandal was expected to meet Thursday, but is not expected to take action against Trump until at least next week. Grand jurors were scheduled on Thursday to hear a separate case, not related to Trump, as it is typically common for grand juries in New York to hear multiple cases at a time.

It's speculated prosecutors will likely slap Trump with a charge of falsifying business records to hide payments made to Daniels. Trump has denied the affair and says he has engaged in no wrongdoing.

The latest developments come as Trump is running for his second nonconsecutive term, a feat that has prompted analysts and insiders to note the legal initiative is part of a "politically-motivated persecution."