The Manhattan grand jury that is weighing criminal charges against former President Donald Trump will not be moving forward with the case anymore this week, ABC News has reported, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter.
The sources said the grand jury is expected to revisit the case Monday and could hear testimony from at least one more witness. The grand jury is meeting Thursday to deliberate on a different case.
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The grand jury’s behind-closed-doors meetings have been closely watched all week amid reports that it is nearly ready to vote on whether to criminally charge a former president for the first time in U.S. history.
The grand jury has been meeting on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, according to Insider. Its Wednesday meeting was called off for unknown reasons by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Bragg is reportedly presenting evidence to the grand jury centering on Trump’s alleged 2016 attempts to buy the silence of two women who said they had sex with him, which he denies.
Trump over the weekend announced without evidence that he expected to be arrested Tuesday and called for his supporters to protest. The grand jury’s activity has been under a microscope since then, but instead of voting on an indictment, they have heard from at least one additional witness this week.
Grand jurors on Monday heard from Robert Costello, a witness for Trump’s legal team who testified that a key opposing witness, former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, was unreliable, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Cohen was sentenced to prison in 2018 on charges related to the alleged hush money payments – $130,000 to porn actress Stormy Daniels and $150,000 to former Playboy model Karen McDougal – which he has admitted making on Trump’s behalf. He has testified multiple times to the grand jury.
Trump has reportedly said that he wants to be publicly handcuffed to make his potential court appearance a “spectacle.”
He said on his Truth Social platform Thursday morning that he was “100% INNOCENT,” adding: “THIS IS NO LEGAL SYSTEM, THIS IS THE GESTAPO, THIS IS RUSSIA AND CHINA, BUT WORSE.”
This was a breaking news story. The details were periodically updated as more information became available.
