Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has delayed the grand jury weighing potential charges against former President Donald Trump, telling them to stay home on Wednesday.
According to reports, Bragg told the grand jury to be on standby for Thursday."The reason for this delay is unclear, including whether it may involve another potential witness to be heard," NBC News reported on Wednesday. "On Monday, the grand jury, which had according to multiple sources been prepared as of Friday to issue an indictment decision as early as this week, heard from Trump ally Robert Costello, who sought to discredit the prosecution's key witness: former fixer and personal attorney Michael Cohen. They had been scheduled to reconvene Wednesday afternoon."
Over the weekend, Trump had posted to Truth Social that he was expecting to be arrested on Tuesday and called for protests should it happen.
The revelation about a former president possibly being arrested sent shockwaves through the political world, as it would be the first time it has happened in American history.
The news has also sent Trump skyrocketing in the polls, and any potential indictment would not exclude him from running for the White House in 2024.
The possible indictment stems from an alleged $130,000 hush money payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016 over an alleged sexual encounter that the two had in 2006. His former attorney, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to charges over the payment in 2018 and was sentenced to three years in prison.
By July 2019, federal prosecutors determined that no additional people would be charged alongside Cohen.
On Monday, a letter sent to Brigg by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan noted that Cohen, who he called the prosecutor's "star witness," is a “convicted perjured with a demonstrable prejudice against President Trump.” He also pointed out that the former attorney pleaded guilty to lying to Congress in 2018 and lied to Congress an additional six times in 2019.
“There is no scenario in which Cohen could fairly be considered an unbiased and credible witness,” the letter asserts.
The letter stated, "in light of the serious consequences of your actions, we expect that you will testify about what plainly appears to be a politically motivated prosecutorial decision.”
