Today, a grand jury in New York hearing evidence in a case involving alleged hush-money payments to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels is not expected to meet, leaving open the question of whether former president Donald Trump will be indicted. Trump, who had previously predicted incorrectly he would be arrested Tuesday, shared on social media a news report suggesting that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg could take a pass on prosecuting him — while he continued to attack Bragg.
In Washington, it’s a busy hearing day on Capitol Hill. Among those testifying: Norfolk Southern chief executive Alan Shaw and several senior Biden administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen.
Criminal charges against Mr. Trump have been hotly anticipated since at least Saturday, when the former president, with no direct knowledge, declared on his social media platform that he would be arrested on Tuesday. But the grand jury, which meets in the afternoons, heard from a witness on Monday until nearly 5 p.m., leaving little time for anything else.
The grand jury meets on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and may hear from at least one more witness before being asked to vote, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Because the proceeding is held in secret, it is unclear whether other witnesses could appear as well.
There was no indication as to why the grand jury was not meeting on Wednesday, but the panel is not required to convene all three days each week, and scheduling conflicts and other interruptions are not unusual.
A spokeswoman for the Manhattan district attorney’s office declined to comment.
The news of the canceled session was first reported by Insider.
While an indictment of Mr. Trump is not a certainty, prosecutors working for the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, have signaled that charges are likely. They have been scrutinizing Mr. Trump for the hush-money payment that was made by his former fixer, Michael D. Cohen, in the run-up to the 2016 election.
The timing of any potential indictment is unknown, and an arrest and arraignment — the criminal proceeding in which a defendant is formally charged — would not immediately follow. In order to indict Mr. Trump, Mr. Bragg’s prosecutors must ask the grand jury to vote whether to charge him. A majority of the 23 jurors must agree to do so.
Once witness testimony has concluded, prosecutors are expected to explain any charges they are seeking to the jurors before asking them to vote. With the grand jury not meeting on Wednesday, the earliest that is likely to happen is Thursday afternoon.
The charges likely center on the way Mr. Trump and his company, the Trump Organization, handled reimbursing Mr. Cohen for the payment of $130,000 to the porn star Stormy Daniels. The company’s internal records falsely identified the reimbursements as legal expenses, which helped conceal the purpose of the payments, according to Mr. Cohen, who said Mr. Trump knew about the misleading records. (Mr. Trump’s lawyers deny that and have accused Mr. Bragg’s office of targeting the former president for political purposes.)
In New York, falsifying business records can be a crime, and Mr. Bragg’s office is likely to build the case around that charge, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Trump 'hush money' grand jury called off for Wednesday, delaying possible indictment vote
The Manhattan 'hush-money' grand jury has been told not to come in on Wednesday, a cancellation that comes on the brink of a possible historic indictment vote of former President Donald Trump, according to two law enforcement officers.
And while nothing beyond Wednesday is set in stone, it is unlikely that the grand jury will meet at all this week, said one of the law enforcement sources, who spoke to Insider on condition of anonymity.
The grand jury has been meeting on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays to hear evidence of Trump's alleged role in approving a 2016 election-eve payment of $130,000 to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, money that federal prosecutors have called an illegal campaign expenditure.
Star prosecution witness Michael Cohen had told reporters as recently as last week that he had expected to be the grand jury's final witness.
Star prosecution witness Michael Cohen had told reporters as recently as last week that he had expected to be the grand jury's final witness.
Had that remained the plan, Cohen's testimony, which concluded last Wednesday, would have been quickly followed by deliberation and a vote.
But today's pause in the grand jury's activity — especially if the panel does take the rest of this week off — will likely delay the process into next week.
Grand juries convene in secret, and prosecutors are statutorily barred from discussing what they do.
The pause comes after unexpected testimony Monday by Robert Costello, who was allowed to address the grand jurors at the defense's request.
1 In a Wednesday post to Truth Social, Trump wrote that Bragg "is having a hard time with the Grand Jury, especially after the powerful testimony against him by Felon Cohen's highly respected former lawyer."
1 Prosecutors are barred from divulging grand jury details; Bragg's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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