The Manhattan grand jury is set to hear evidence of Trump’s role in paying $130,000 in ‘hush money’ to porn star Stormy Daniels to try to kill a storyline about their ‘affair’
- Testimony in the case is scheduled to begin this week in Lower Mahattan
- Former National Enquirer editor David Pecker was seen entering the building
- Daniels claims she had a brief fling with the married Trump in 2006
Donald Trump’s role in hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels will be under the microscope of a grand jury today, it was reported Monday afternoon.
Prosecutors in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office are laying out their case, which could potentially lead to criminal charges, according to the New York Times.
She claims to have slept with Trump in 2006, which the former president denies. He was married to former First Lady Melania Trump, who gave birth to their son Barron less than six months before their brief affair.
Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen previously admitted to paying Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, $130,000 to silence her during the 2016 campaign.
Former President Donald Trump continues to deny the alleged affair with porn star Stormy Daniels in 2006
Cohen pleaded guilty to violating the campaign finance law in 2018 and was sentenced to three years in prison for arranging the payment and a non-disclosure agreement.
He told a judge at the time that they were made “in consultation with and at the direction of a candidate for federal office.”
Now, with Trump out of office for several years and embarking on another campaign, witnesses are expected to speak before the New York grand jury as prosecutors argue why the former president should be indicted.
Trump’s former “fixer” Michael Cohen admitted to paying Daniels hush money over the affair
Among the witnesses seen at Monday’s Manhattan court hearing was reportedly David Pecker, former editor of the National Enquirer.
He previously admitted to prosecutors that he “collaborated” with the 2016 Trump campaign to arrange hush money payments for Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal.
A statement from the Manhattan Attorney at the time said he helped facilitate the payments so the women would “not release harmful allegations” about Trump.
Other witnesses expected include former National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard and two Trump Organization employees, according to the Times.
Late last week, it was revealed that federal prosecutors had been discussing charging Trump with campaign finance violations over the payments made to Daniels and McDougal after he left office.
While Justice Department guidance warned against indicting an incumbent president, there have been talks about whether the evidence from the 2018 indictment against Cohen should be used to prosecute Trump after his term expires, according to CNN’s book Untouchable -Analyst Elie Honig.
But that was apparently derailed by this month’s chaos, including the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol and Trump’s efforts to overthrow the 2020 presidential election.
Honig wrote that such national crises made alleged campaign fouls “kind of trivial and outdated by comparison.”