Donald Trump will not be indicted on Wednesday, a new report revealed after Manhattan prosecutors told grand jury members not to appear in court.
It’s unlikely the grand jury will even meet this week, law enforcement sources told Insider.
The new news comes as NYPD officials increased their presence amid unrest at the courthouse should the court decide to arrest the former president.
Meanwhile, Trump is staying away from the town he once called home, instead hiding out at his Mar-a-Lago club at his Palm Beach, Florida residence.
An NYPD official told there were no known threats or demonstrations planned until late Wednesday morning — even as thousands of officers across Lower Manhattan and Midtown are on standby.
“Rather than leaving officers in their cars and offices, the decision was made to put them in highly visible posts so people can see them anywhere,” the officer said.
Police are rampant in New York City on Wednesday as the country prepares for an indictment against former President Donald Trump. Pictured: An officer walks near chalk graffiti that reads “Nobody is Above the Law” outside Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office
A new report reveals that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg called off the grand jury on Wednesday in preparation for riots if an indictment were to come. Pictured: Bragg arrives at his NYC office on the morning of March 23 as law enforcement and security look on
New York State Court officials erected barricades outside the criminal court Wednesday morning after reports that March 22, 2023 could be the day Trump will be presented with an indictment in the case involving a hush money payment to Stormy Daniels
Even if an indictment came out on Wednesday, Trump would not appear before a judge in New York until next week.
“There will be no indictment this week,” a source familiar with the case told on Tuesday.
After the formal charges are filed, Manhattan prosecutors will reach out to Trump and his intelligence detail to make arrangements for his surrender, the insider said.
The grand jury in Trump’s hush money trial was scheduled to meet in New York City Wednesday as NYPD officials increased their presence amid unrest should the court decide to make an arrest.
The panel met Monday, Wednesday and Thursday to hear evidence in the case alleging Trump authorized a 2016 hush money payment to Daniels on the eve of the 2016 presidential election.
Trump warned over the weekend he could be charged as early as Tuesday, but law enforcement sources told the earliest action would likely be on Wednesday.
The court was reportedly due to hear a final witness on Wednesday – it’s unclear who would make that additional testimony
As police patrol the streets, members of the United States Secret Service (USSS) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also began moving into the city.
Officials from both agencies began setting up a so-called base camp at the Peninsula Hotel in Manhattan on Wednesday.
Trump said in a Truth Social post Wednesday morning that the real crime was that he would be charged in the case of paying hush money.
Members of the US Secret Service and Department of Homeland Security began setting up a base camp at the Peninsula Hotel in Manhattan on Wednesday, amid threats and preparations for an indictment of the former president if he is indicted
USSS officers help unload vehicles as they move their operations to the Peninsula Hotel March 22, 2023 in New York City
At the same time, new images from reveal that the former president’s plane, dubbed Trump Force One, was parked at Florida’s Palm Beach International Airport with the stairs up and the engines turned on and spinning.
“Every article I read, every show I watch, even the so-called haters say, ‘President Trump did nothing wrong, there is no crime here!’ Trump wrote in his online post. “As Biden would say, ‘No, I’m serious, I’m not kidding.’
“The crime would be if I am charged!!!”
NYPD remains on high alert after all 36,000 officers were ordered to be in uniform and on call for action.
Washington, DC’s Metro Police Department is also bracing for riots — hoping to avoid another Jan. 6 event when the former president is indicted.
A New York State court official erects a barricade outside the prosecutor’s office Wednesday morning as protests are expected to continue in NYC
A member of the NYPD with a police dog conducts a search outside Manhattan Criminal Court Wednesday morning before protesters returned to demonstrate for and against Trump’s impeachment
The search comes after multiple threats, including a bomb threat, were made via a 9-1-1 call on Tuesday. All 36,000 NYPD officers were ordered to be in uniform and on call for action Tuesday and will remain on duty Wednesday
Trump continues to deny the substance of allegations of a sexual relationship with porn star Stormy Daniels – his lawyer has called the $130,000 hush money a “harassment payment” that rich or famous people sometimes use to make a distracting situation disappear
Trump remains huddled at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Fla. Supporters have gathered outside the club this week to protest a possible indictment, at the encouragement of the ex-president
As Trump prepares for his first possible indictment, another case is heating up against him in Washington, DC, where the judge overseeing the investigation into classified Mar-a-Lago documents ruled that an attorney for the former president should be forced to appear before the grand jury.
DC District Court Judge Beryl Howell ruled Tuesday that Trump may have deliberately concealed the existence of even more classified records in Mar-a-Lago from his attorney, Evan Corcoran.
Corcoran appeared before the grand jury in January and repeatedly cited attorney-client privilege as a reason for not answering her questions. But now ABC News and CNN have confirmed Corcoran should return ahead of the panel.
The Trump team was due to provide a briefing Tuesday night, with the Justice Department’s response due by 6 a.m. Wednesday morning.
Trump reportedly paid Daniels $130,000 in the middle of the 2016 presidential campaign and ordered her to keep quiet about their affair. Sources told that his aim was to make sure it didn’t go back to his wife Melania.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the payment’s existence on Jan. 12, 2018 — just a year after Trump’s presidency. The ex-president’s personal attorney at the time, Michael Cohen, released a statement a month later confirming the payment for the first time.
Trump’s Boeing 757, dubbed ‘Trump Force One’, sits outside at Palm Beach International Airport with stair setup and engine turbines on, spinning in the morning of Monday, March 22, 2023 in West Palm Beach, Florida
Bragg’s arrival at his office on Wednesday morning was closely monitored by court and NYPD security. Shortly after arriving at work preparing for the grand jury convening, Trump posted on social media that Bragg was a “renegade prosecutor” who should focus on increasing crime in New York.
“The renegade prosecutor, who is having a tough time with the grand jury, particularly after the compelling testimony against him by well-regarded former attorney for Felon Cohen, is attempting to build a case that has NEVER BEEN TAKEN UP AND IN FACT WILL NOT BE BROUGHT,” wrote Trump.
He added, “If he would spend that time, effort and money fighting VIOLENT CRIME that is destroying NYC, our once beautiful and safe Manhattan, which has become an absolute HELL HOLE, would be a much better place to live in!”
Trump supporters and haters flooded streets in New York City and around Mar-a-Lago this week, arguing for or against his imprisonment.
Supporters rallied in front of Trump Tower in Manhattan and along the road leading to Trump’s Florida residence on Monday and Tuesday, after the former president urged his loyal base in a Truth Social post to “protest” his possible impending indictment “protest, protest”.
A police van parked outside the Manhattan court offices on Wednesday, March 22, 2023
Some began to worry that this social media post would lead to political violence and another scene like the one in the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Police took to the streets again early Wednesday morning in New York, preparing for the worst should Trump be charged or arrested.
Counter-protesters were also stationed outside the Manhattan courthouse demanding that Trump be arrested and put behind bars.
Trump released a Fox News report on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday night, in which he claimed, “Sources say there is a real chance prosecutors will choose not to charge Trump amid rumors swirling.”
Police presence Wednesday morning included the use of dogs to sweep the area – likely 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.