Former President Donald Trump has warned that possible criminal charges against him could cause "death & destruction" in the US, shortly after New York prosecutors investigating his hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels said they would not be intimidated. This latest post on Trump's Truth Social media platform was the latest in a series of verbal attacks on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg since last Saturday when Trump wrongly predicted he would be arrested three days later.

The Manhattan grand jury is investigating hush-money payments Trump allegedly made to Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign. While prosecutors from Bragg's office have been presenting grand jurors with evidence, the panel is not scheduled to meet again until at least Monday. Daniels has said she received money in exchange for keeping silent about a sexual encounter she had with Trump in 2006, which he denies.

Trump has repeatedly denied fraud in relation to his 2020 defeat to Joe Biden and inspired his followers to launch a deadly assault on the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The repercussions of potential criminal charges against him could be catastrophic for the country, Trump warned.