Trump lawyer says he’ll surrender if indicted in New York and there won’t be a ‘stand-off at Mar-a-Lago’

Former allies of ex-president have given testimony in New York investigation

Donald Trump will surrender himself if he’s charged in a high-profile criminal probe in New York into hush money payments, according to the former president’s attorneys.

“There won’t be a standoff at Mar-a-Lago with Secret Service and the Manhattan DA’s office,” Joe Tacopina told The New York Daily News.

“Most people would collapse under the weight of this,” he added. “He seems to turn everything into a positive and everything into a boost for his campaign, so I’m sure this will just join that long list of things that people think no one could overcome, but he will.”

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office appears close to charging Mr Trump for making payments during the 2016 campaign to two women who claimed to have had affairs with the then-candidate. Last week, prosecutors invited the former president to testify before a grand jury in the probe, a sign they are likely preparing an indictment.

No former president in US history has been charged with a crime.

Officials at the DA’s office have been investigating Mr Trump since 2018 for two payments: a $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and a $150,000 payment to model Karen McDougal.

Mr Trump has admitted to the payments, but denied having affairs with the women.

He has derided the New York probe as an “insane”, politically motivated “Witch Hunt.”

Close advisers to Donald Trump have given interviews and testimony in the Manhattan DA investigation, including former campaign and White House officials Kellyanne Conway and Hope Hicks.

Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who facilitated the payment to Ms Daniels, has testified before a New York grand jury in the investigation, and has provided voice recordings, emails, and texts to investigators that allegedly capture the former president’s involvement in the hush-money scheme.

In 2018, Mr Cohen pleaded guilty to federal charges for arranging the payment to the porn actress and served time in prison, as well as being disbarred.

Ms Daniels has also worked with investigators in the case.

Outside of the Manhattan probe, Mr Trump faces legal trouble on a number of fronts, including a federal special counsel investigation into January 6 and his handling of classified documents, a probe in Georgia investigating his attempts to alter the state’s election results, and a $250m lawsuit from the New York attorney general alleging corrupt business practices.