Vote on Donald Trump's indictment called off - but jurors 'on standby' tomorrow
The Manhattan grand jury investigating former President Donald Trump over hush money payments during his 2016 presidential campaign will not meet today, sources have claimed.
The panel hearing about Trump's involvement in the hush money payment has been meeting on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
But the grand jurors will convene again and continue their work on Thursday.
If tomorrow's meeting gets cancelled as well, the panel is expected to convene again and vote on a possible indictment on Monday next week.
The reason for the postponement was not immediately clear.
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It comes amid mounting signs that the grand jury, which is probing payments to silence a porn actor, Stormy Daniels who says she had a sexual encounter with Trump, is nearing the completion of its work.
NYPD officers set up barricades after Trump called his supporters to protest his potential indictment (Getty Images)But the Manhattan DA plans to convene the grand jury again Thursday, NBC News reported, quoting two sources familiar with the matter.
Trump could be indicted by a Manhattan grand jury as soon as this week, potentially charged with falsifying business records connected to hush money payments during his 2016 campaign to women who accused him of sexual encounters.
Prosecutors had recently invited Trump himself to appear before the grand jury, and on Monday heard from a witness favourable to his case as a way to ensure that the panel would be presented with any information that could conceivably be considered exculpatory.
Over the weekend, Trump stated that he expected to be arrested on Tuesday, though the day came and went without that happening.
Trump has navigated countless legal investigations over the past 40 years without ever facing criminal charges.
In this particular one, he has denied any allegations of wrongdoing and accuses prosecutors of engaging in a politically motivated “witch hunt” to damage his campaign.
An indictment in New York would mark an extraordinary turn in American history, making Trump the first former president to face a criminal charge.
And it would carry tremendous weight for Trump himself, threatening his long-established ability to avoid consequences despite entanglement in a dizzying number of cases.
Trump first faced legal scrutiny in the 1970s when the Department of Justice brought a racial discrimination case against his family's real estate business.
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Trump and his father fiercely fought the suit, which accused them of refusing to rent apartments to Black tenants in predominantly white buildings.
Trump could be the first-ever former US president to face a criminal charge (AFP via Getty Images)Testimony showed that applications filed by prospective Black tenants were marked with a “C" for “coloured.”
Trump counter-sued for $100 million, accusing the government of defamation.
The case ended with a settlement that opened the way for some Black tenants but did not force the Trumps to explicitly acknowledge they had “failed and neglected” to comply with the Fair Housing Act.
Since then, Trump and his businesses have been the subject of thousands of civil lawsuits and numerous investigations.
There have been probes into his casino and real estate dealings, allegations of bribery and improper lobbying, fraud allegations against the now-defunct Trump University and charitable Trump Foundation and a probe by the Manhattan district attorney into sales at the Trump SoHo hotel-condominium in Lower Manhattan.
People gathered cheering Trump's potential indictment (Getty Images)As president, Trump continued to face legal scrutiny. For two years, the Justice Department investigated his 2016 campaign’s ties to Russia.
While special counsel Robert Mueller never found direct evidence of collusion, his final report did lay out the evidence for obstruction.
He noted that, because of a department opinion that bars indicting a sitting president, he couldn’t recommend Trump be criminally charged, even in secret.
Since Trump left office, the investigations have circled ever closer. In January, his namesake company was fined $1.6 million for tax crimes, including conspiracy and falsifying business records.
The company's longtime executive, Allen Weisselberg, is currently serving jail time as punishment for dodging taxes on job perks.
Trump has navigated countless legal investigations over the past 40 years without ever facing charges (AFP via Getty Images)Additional cases are still being pursued. In Georgia, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been investigating whether Trump and his allies illegally meddled in the 2020 election.
The foreperson of a special grand jury, which heard from dozens of witnesses. said last month that the panel had recommended that numerous people be indicted, and hinted Trump could be among them. It is ultimately up to Willis to decide whether to move forward.
In Washington, Trump is under scrutiny from special counsel Jack Smith for his handling — allegations say mishandling — of classified documents after leaving office, as well as for his much-publicised efforts to stay in power, despite his 2020 election loss.
Justice Department lawyers in the documents probe have said they have amassed evidence of potential crimes involving Trump's retention of national defence information as well as potential efforts to obstruct their work.
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