Mike Pence, speaking with Jon Karl for ABC’s This Week from election stomping grounds in Iowa, said he is “getting closer” to make an announcement about running for president.

“We’re giving serious consideration to it … We’re getting a lot of encouragement,” he said.

“I think now is a time for all of us who care about this country to consider our part, play a part, and make sure we elect leadership that will turn this country around in 2024 and beyond,” he added.

In an interview with ABC’s This Week, Mike Pence listened to audio of Donald Trump effectively justifying threats against his vice president when he presided over the certification of the 2020 presidential election that the former president falsely insists was fraudulent.

“There was no excuse for the violence that took place. … I’ll never diminish it, as long as I live,” Mr Pence responded. “The president’s wrong. He was wrong that day. I actually hoped that he would come around in time. … He hasn’t done so.”

Trump surrounded himself with a “cadre of legal advisers” had “led him astray.”

He said that Trump’s ongoing baseless narrative is “one of the reasons that the country is ready for a fresh start.”

Republican Senator Mike Rounds would not say whether he regrets voting against convicting Donald Trump when he was impeached for inciting the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, a move that could have barred him from holding public office in the future.

He said such a move is “now up to the courts.”

When pressed by NBC’s Meet the Press host Chuck Todd whether he believes Trump’s call for his supporters to protest his potential indictment and arrest was appropriate, Mr Rounds said: “There’s a difference between the former president and what he did on January 6 … versus an individual person, today, asking people to show up to protest.”

Mr Todd asked Mr Rounds if he believed the rhetoric from Trump – who is not merely an individual but running for president in 2024 – is “fomenting distrust.”

“I don’t know if he’s fomenting distrust or not … Clearly, he’s following some leaks, apparently, that are coming out of the DA’s office that should not happen. But most certainly you don’t wanna have any threats towards the implementation or attempts to implement justice,” noting that’s whether they’re an individual or a former president, Mr Rounds said.

Media outlets had previously reported that the former president could face possible criminal charges in New York; Trump did not publicly announce whether he had been informed by law enforcement about any charges. His spokesperson later clarified that there “has been no notification” of any such charges or plans for an arrest.

But Trump appears to have been the only person to have “leaked” news of his arrest. He made similar claims during a federal law enforcement search of his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida, publicising that a “raid” was underway before law enforcement agencies did.

Fox & Friends hosts suggested that Black prosecutor Alvin Bragg is prosecuting Donald Trump at the expense of Black lives killed by gun violence in New York City, then suggested that Jewish billionaire philanthropist George Soros – the subject of countless far-right antisemitic conspiracy theories – is financially supporting Mr Bragg’s investigation.

A host also invoked an antisemitic dogwhistle, saying Mr Trump’s campaign is a “threat to the globalist agenda”, and said that Mr Bragg “has to pay his master back” by prosecuting Mr Trump.

An internal message from Manhattan’s district attorney Alvin Bragg to his staff says that the office will not “tolerate attempts to intimidate our office or threaten the rule of law in New York”.

“Our law enforcement partners will ensure that any specific or credible threats against the office will be fully investigated and that the proper safeguards are in place so all 1,600 of us have a secure work environment,” he added.

His email did not mention Donald Trump by name but referenced the “public comments surrounding an ongoing investigation by this office.”

Donald Trump’s rcitics and activist groups have condemned his inflammatory rhetoric and a statement from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy as Republicans quickly rallied to the former president’s defense against possible criminal prosecution.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also condemned Mr Trump’s “reckless” announcement predicting his arrest, which she said has been used to “keep himself in the news and to foment unrest among his supporters” as he continues to use apocalyptic rhetoric around his 2024 campaign and potential criminal indictments.

The Republican leader issued a statement accusing the Manhattan district attorney’s office of an “outrageous abuse of power” and announced that he will direct House committees to “immediately investigate if federal funds are being used to subvert our democracy by interfering in elections with politically motivated prosecutions.

Democratic US Rep Ted Lieu struck back at Mr McCarthy’s suggestion that New York prosecutors are “subverting democracy” with their criminal investigation.

“Do you even know what the charges are? Have you seen any of the grand jury evidence? No,” Mr Lieu wrote. “You are being a craven, partisan politician who doesn’t respect the rule of law. In America, no one is above the law, including the person to whom you bend your knee.”

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg has responded to Donald Trump’s call for protest ahead of potential criminal charges against the former president.

“Our law enforcement partners will ensure that any specific or credible threats against the office will be fully investigated and that the proper safeguards are in place so all 1,600 of us have a secure work environment,” Mr Bragg wrote to staff in his office, according to reports.

Read Mr Bragg’s full statement below:

Donald Trump is now expected face charges filed by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose office has reportedly burrowed into the Stormy Daniels case and empaneled a grand jury only as recently as January in the investigation.

So what happens next in this unprecedented case?

What happens to the 2024 race, and Donald Trump’s ability to participate in it, if he comes under criminal indictment?

The short answer is, not much.

The Independent’s John Bowden explains:

Donald Trump’s recent remarks echo his calls to supporters that fuelled the attack on the US Capitol and his apocalyptic visions of America from his time in office and on the campaign trail, depicting his us-versus-them political stakes and a brewing civil war with grim conclusions – rhetoric that has gripped the GOP in the wake of Mr Trump’s candidacy.