Manhattan grand jury has typically heard testimony three times a week, but prosecutors don't have an urgent deadline as the grand jury sits until June

1 year ago 5
1 min ago

Manhattan grand jury not meeting on Trump hush money case today, sources say

From CNN's From Kara Scannell and Lauren Del Valle 

Security barricades set up outside the New York District Attorney's office in New York on Monday, March 20.Security barricades set up outside the New York District Attorney's office in New York on Monday, March 20. (Stephanie Keith/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

The Manhattan grand jury investigating Trump’s alleged role in a scheme to pay hush money to an adult film star will not hear that case when it convenes today, according to two sources familiar with the matter, pushing the Manhattan’s district attorney’s probe into next week.

After today, the Manhattan grand jury will next convene on Monday, when it is possible they could hear additional testimony from a witness.

The district attorney’s office declined to comment.

Grand juries typically hear multiple cases at a time.

28 min ago

Trump attorney will testify tomorrow in Mar-a-Lago classified documents probes after losing appeal

From CNN's Katelyn Polantz and Kaitlan Collins

Former President Donald Trump’s defense attorney Evan Corcoran is scheduled to testify Friday before the grand jury investigating classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago after a new order from a federal appeals court, a source familiar with the matter told CNN.

The US DC Circuit Court of Appeals said that Corcoran must provide additional testimony and turn over documents about the former president as part of the criminal investigation into possible mishandling of classified documents.

The source said Trump’s side is unlikely to appeal to the Supreme Court.

In response to the decision, a Trump spokesperson said, in part, that “there is no factual or legal basis or substance to any case against President Trump” and that “prosecutors only attack lawyers when they have no case whatsoever.”

The announcement from a panel of three judges in the appellate court – less than a day after Trump sought to put Corcoran’s testimony on hold – adds momentum to the special counsel investigation as it seeks to secure evidence that could make or break a federal criminal case against Trump.

The Justice Department has successfully argued in court that prosecutors have enough evidence that Trump’s interactions with the lawyer were part of a possible crime that they can pierce the confidentiality of the conversations between the two.

The documents at issue in the case are Corcoran’s handwritten notes and transcribed verbal notes, regarding his representation of Trump in the Mar-a-Lago probe, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Corcoran previously testified and declined to answer some questions, citing attorney-client privilege. Prosecutors are also seeking access to notes from Corcoran.

It’s not fully known what Corcoran’s testimony and documents would reveal.

50 min ago

Here's why Trump can still run for president even if he is indicted

Analysis by Zachary B. Wolf

Former President Donald Trump is involved in four different criminal investigations by three different levels of government – but even if he is indicted or convicted, he can still run for president in 2024. Trump announced his candidacy in November.

“Nothing stops Trump from running while indicted, or even convicted,” Richard Hasen said, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.

The Constitution requires only three things of candidates:

  • A natural born citizen.
  • At least 35 years old.
  • A resident of the US for at least 14 years.

As a political matter, it’s maybe more difficult for an indicted candidate, who could become a convicted criminal, to win votes. Trials don’t let candidates put their best foot forward, but it is not forbidden for them to run or be elected.

There are a few asterisks both in the Constitution and the 14th and 22nd Amendments, none of which currently apply to Trump in the cases thought to be closest to formal indictment.

  • Term limits. The 22nd Amendment forbids anyone who has twice been president (meaning twice been elected or served part of someone else’s term and then won his or her own) from running again. That doesn’t apply to Trump since he lost the 2020 election.
  • Impeachment. If a person is impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate of high crimes and misdemeanors, he or she is removed from office and disqualified from serving again. Trump, although twice impeached by the House during his presidency, was also twice acquitted by the Senate.
  • Disqualification. The 14th Amendment includes a “disqualification clause,” written specifically with an eye toward former Confederate soldiers.

Potential charges in regard to the hush-money payment have nothing to do with rebellion or insurrection. Nor do potential federal charges with regard to classified documents.

Potential charges in Fulton County, Georgia, with regard to 2020 election meddling or at the federal level with regard to the January 6, 2021, insurrection could perhaps be construed by some as a form of insurrection. But that is an open question that would have to work its way through the courts.

54 min ago

NY grand jury set to meet today as it weighs charges against Trump

From CNN's Jeremy Herb, Kara Scannell, Paula Reid, John Miller, Kristen Holmes and Katelyn Polantz

The extraordinary legal peril surrounding Donald Trump is reaching a fever pitch at the same time the former president is forging ahead in a 2024 Republican primary that is increasingly dominated by criminal investigations in New York, Washington and Atlanta.

Remember: There’s still no public information as to when or whether an indictment could be filed, leaving the former president and the public in suspense.

The Manhattan grand jury that has been hearing evidence in the case pertaining to Trump’s alleged role in a scheme to pay hush money to an adult film star will sit on Thursday, a source familiar with the investigation told CNN. NBC first reported the development.

There is still the possibility that the grand jury could be asked to vote this week, but it could also stretch into next week, the source said.

The grand jury has typically heard testimony on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, but it did not meet on Wednesday. Earlier Wednesday, two sources told CNN that the grand jury was on standby, but it had not yet gotten a call to come in. Prosecutors do not have an urgent deadline as the grand jury sits until June.

New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office has suggested to an attorney for at least one witness in the past 24 hours that they might need to provide more testimony to the grand jury in its hush money probe, according to one source familiar with the probe.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is trying to determine whether to call back Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, to refute the testimony provided earlier this week by lawyer Robert Costello – or to call an additional witness to buttress their case before the grand jurors consider a vote on whether to indict the former president, the source familiar with the investigation said.

Representatives for both the DA’s office and Cohen declined to comment to CNN.

Expectations are high that Bragg, a Democrat, is getting ready to make a decision on a potential indictment against Trump any day now over a hush-money payment scheme to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Bragg has said little about the status of the probe or whether Trump will even be charged.

Read more here.

49 min ago

The 2020 election and national security: A look at some of the investigations surrounding Trump

From CNN's Dan Berman

It’s been nearly eight years since he rode down the escalator in Trump Tower and more than two years since the January 6, 2021, insurrection, but Donald Trump now faces several instances of legal trouble.

Here are some of the most notable investigations:

Hush-money payments: Manhattan district attorney

New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg appears to be in the late stages of the investigation into hush money paid to adult-film star Stormy Daniels late in the 2016 presidential campaign.

The $130,000 payment was paid by former Trump attorney and fixer Michael Cohen to Daniels to remain quiet about an alleged affair between Daniels and Trump years earlier. Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels and says the probe by Bragg, a Democrat, is politically motivated.

Mar-a-Lago documents: Did Trump mishandle classified material?

Special counsel Jack Smith is overseeing the Justice Department’s criminal investigations into the retention of national defense information at Trump’s resort and into parts of the January 6, 2021, insurrection.

The Justice Department investigation continues into whether documents from the Trump White House were illegally mishandled when they were taken to Mar-a-Lago in Florida after he left office. A federal grand jury has interviewed potential witnesses regarding how Trump handled the documents.

2020 election and January 6: US Justice Department

Smith’s purview also includes the period after Trump’s 2020 election loss to Joe Biden and leading up to the insurrection at the US Capitol.

As part of its investigation, the special counsel’s office has sought testimony from a number of key White House insiders, including former Vice President Mike Pence, Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Aspects of the Justice Department’s probe include the use of so-called fake electors from states that Trump falsely claimed he had won, such as Georgia and Arizona.

2020 election and January 6: House select committee

The House select committee investigating the US Capitol attack issued an 845-page report – based on 1,000-plus interviews and documents collected, including emails, texts and phone records – that alleges Trump “oversaw” the legally dubious effort to put forward fake slates of electors in seven states he lost. Evidence shows, the report said, that Trump actively worked to “transmit false Electoral College ballots to Congress and the National Archives.”

In a symbolic move, the committee referred Trump to the Justice Department on at least four criminal charges before it concluded at the end of 2022, ahead of Republicans taking control of the House.

2020 election: Efforts to overturn Georgia results

Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis oversaw a special grand jury investigating what Trump or his allies may have done in their efforts to overturn Biden’s victory in Georgia.

The grand jury issued a report – which remains mostly under seal – that found there was no widespread voter fraud in the state and also suggested perjury charges be considered against some people who testified. Overall, the grand jury recommended charges against more than a dozen people, the foreperson said in interviews last month.

Diver deeper here.

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