Trump grand jury returns at NOON: Panel nears crunch decision as Alvin Bragg ‘struggles’ with ‘weak’ case – and after release of Michael Cohen’s bombshell letter about Stormy Daniels payments
- Grand jury members for the case were ordered not to appear in court on Wednesday
- A source told prosecutors from they were having “problems convincing the jury” to indict Trump because it was “a weak case”.
- The panel will meet again at noon, where prosecutors “may present another witness.”
The grand jury in the Trump hush money case will reconvene Thursday noon after the Manhattan District Attorney told the panel not to appear Wednesday for fears of unrest if indictments are filed against the ex-president.
Many expected Donald Trump to be indicted already, but a court official confirmed to that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Wednesday canceled the grand jury, which met Monday, Wednesday and Thursday to consider evidence in the case to hear.
It is still unclear why their meeting was prevented due to reports that the panel will need to hear one final witness before reaching a verdict.
However, a source told : “They are having trouble convincing the jury to accept the case. It’s a weak case and has caused divisions in the prosecutor’s office.’
Other reports suggest the prosecutor’s office may be considering a change of strategy.
The members of the grand jury in the case of Trump’s alleged hush money payments to Stormy Daniels will reconvene Thursday noon at the Manhattan courthouse
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (pictured leaving the courthouse March 22, 2023) recalled the jury Wednesday, as sources claim prosecutors are struggling to persuade the panel to indict Trump
Trump has urged his supporters to take to the streets and protest as he still maintains complete innocence of any wrongdoing over allegations that he authorized a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels to use amid the to remain silent about their affair during the 2016 presidential election.
But new documents obtained by show that Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, claimed in a 2018 letter that he was not reimbursed by his client or his companies for hush money payments made to Daniels.
The letter to federal authorities could thwart prosecutors who want to press criminal charges against Trump over the payment.
Cohen, a key witness at the trial, claims Trump reimbursed him with personal funds. He later pleaded guilty to violating the federal campaign finance statute because of the hush money.
Even if Trump is indicted this week, law enforcement sources tell he doesn’t have to come to New York for an indictment until next week. That’s good news for the former president, who is preparing for one of his first campaign events for 2024 in Waco, Texas on Saturday.
All 36,000 New York City Police Department (NTPD) officers were placed on alert this week and instructed in a memo on Monday to wear uniform and be on call. The men and women in uniform have maintained an increased presence outside Manhattan courts this week, with both pro- and anti-Trump protesters descending on the Big Apple.
The police presence has included the use of dogs to sweep the area to sniff for bombs and other nefarious items after New York’s courts were inundated with threats earlier this week.
A bomb threat via a 9-1-1 call on Tuesday shut down the Manhattan Civil Court Tuesday morning and stayed proceedings, according to a court spokesman.
The threat delayed the start of a New York Attorney General’s hearing in a separate case alleging that Trump and his company were involved in a years-long fraud scheme.
Police are using bomb-sniffing dogs to patrol the area around Manhattan Criminal Court after someone made a bomb threat via a 9-1-1 call Tuesday
Drug-sniffing K9s were taken to Manhattan court offices Thursday for a search before the prosecutor and grand jury arrived
Trump posted a picture on Truth Social Wednesday night in which he poses with a large group of officers and first responders from the NYPD and FDNY. There was no text associated with the post.
In a separate post on his social media platform, Trump also reiterated his claims that there had been “no crime of any kind” and accused Bragg of “election interference” in the trial of an indicted former – and possibly future – president.
As all eyes turn to New York and police and court security patrol the streets, images have emerged of members of the United States Secret Service (USSS) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) setting up a base camp at the Peninsula Hotel in Manhattan.
Meanwhile, Trump is staying away from the city he once called home, instead staying at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida.
The NYPD stands guard outside Trump Tower in Manhattan Thursday morning as the grand jury prepares for a reconvening as protesters are expected to continue to demonstrate outside the ex-president’s former longtime residence