Just days after raising the possibility that he could be criminally charged by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, former President Donald Trump shared a news article suggesting Bragg may not pursue the charges after all.
On Saturday, Trump raised allegations that Bragg would announce charges against the former president as early as Tuesday, March 21. However, Tuesday came and went without Bragg formally announcing charges.
Bragg’s case against Trump may stem from a $130,000 payment Trump and his then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, allegedly facilitated to adult entertainment actress Stormy Daniels in 2016 to stop her from going public with claims they had an affair. Bragg’s office may argue the payment should have been classified as a campaign expense but was wrongly classified as a business expense by the Trump Organization—in violation of Section 175 of New York law—which classifies the falsification of business records as a Class E felony. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) had already declined to prosecute the 2016 payment to Daniels as an election law violation.
A grand jury has the power to determine if there is an indictable offense. Grand jury deliberations are done in secret, and indictments typically remain under seal until an arraignment.
A Manhattan grand jury may still be hearing evidence and witness testimony in the potential Trump case.
Cohen’s Reliability
Cohen pled guilty to tax fraud, bank fraud, and campaign finance violations in federal court in New York on Aug. 21, 2018. Cohen said the alleged campaign finance violation he participated in—the payment to Daniels—was done at Trump’s direction. Trump argued at the time that the campaign finance issue that Cohen had described in his plea deal was not actually a crime. Former Federal Elections Commission Chair Bradey Smith agreed that Cohen’s payment to Daniels would not have violated campaign finance laws, though other election law officials disagreed and a federal judge accepted Cohen’s 2018 plea agreement that included the campaign finance allegation.Later on in November of 2018, Cohen also pled guilty to perjury by way of giving false testimony to members of Congress about when Trump discontinued efforts to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, Russia. Cohen had initially told lawmakers that the Trump Tower Moscow project ended in January of 2016, but later said that was a lie and that talks continued through June of 2016.
Cohen has disputed Costello’s claims that he is an unreliable witness.
“I stated years ago that the payment was done at the direction of, in coordination with and for the benefit of Donald,” Cohen added. “Truth is truth and the documents in the possession of the [New York County District Attorney’s Office] demonstrate this.”
Trump Says Bragg Seeking New Witness
Despite suggesting Bragg’s case before a Manhattan grand jury could end without charges, the former president has indicated Bragg is looking at other ways to bolster a possible case, including with additional witnesses.NTD News reached out to Bragg’s office for comment but has not received a reply.
