Manhattan DA Begins Presenting Evidence to Grand Jury in Trump-Stormy Daniels Bribery Case
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The Manhattan district attorney’s office began presenting evidence to a grand jury on Monday concerning allegations that Donald Trump bribed former adult actress Stormy Daniels to conceal their alleged sexual encounter during his 2016 presidential campaign, the New York Times reported.
The progress is suggestive of District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s growing confidence that there may be enough evidence to charge the former president with a criminal indictment.
Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, who allegedly brokered the $130,000 of hush money deal, was among the witnesses who testified on Monday, the Times reported.
The witness list also includes a former editor of the National Enquirer, two Trump employees, and a 2016 Trump campaign staffer.
Much of the case, however, hinges upon the testimony of Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal attorney. Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to eight charges, including violating campaign finance laws.
According to statements Cohen made in a plea deal during special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Trump’s alleged collusion with Russia, the former president allegedly asked him to pay off Stormy Daniels “for the principal purpose of influencing the election.”
Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s former chief financial officer, was reputedly involved in compensating Cohen for the illegal payment to Daniels and represents another potential start witness for the Manhattan district attorney’s office.
Weisselberg is currently serving time on Rikers Island for an unrelated tax fraud conviction.
Bragg’s predecessor, Cyrus Vance Jr., had also impaneled and presented evidence to a grand jury about former President Donald Trump’s business practices, focused on whether the Trump Organization used fraudulent practices to secure better loans. However, Bragg lacked faith in the strength of the investigation and abandoned the grand jury in 2022, triggering the resignation of two senior lawyers, including Mark Pomerantz.
Pomerantz condemned Bragg’s decision as short-sighted and is set to release a book this week which may detail sensitive information about the grand jury.
