The grand jury in Manhattan reviewing the hush money case involving former President Donald Trump will face another delay, for the remainder of this week. This means a potential indictment of Trump cannot be issued until at least next week. The reason for the delay is currently unclear.
The most recent person to testify before the panel was former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, who made his second appearance on Monday after being among the first witnesses in late January.
Pecker, a longtime pal of Trump who helped cover up his alleged affair with former Playboy model Karen McDougal, was recalled to the witness stand after sources said District Attorney Alvin Bragg wanted to rebut testimony last week from lawyer and Trump ally Robert Costello.
Following his appearance, Costello told reporters that former Trump lawyer and ex-con Michael Cohen masterminded a $130,000 payment to silence Daniels “on his own, that’s what he told us.”
The case involves allegations that Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, paid adult film actress Stephanie Clifford (who goes by the stage name Stormy Daniels) $130,000 in hush money to keep quiet about an alleged affair she had with then-candidate Trump in 2006.
Trump Grand Jury won’t consider any more evidence in probe for the rest of the week, so no indictment again this week.
— ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) March 28, 2023
Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to charges of campaign finance violations and lying to Congress in connection with the payment, and he implicated Trump in the scheme. Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels and has also denied any knowledge of the payment made by Cohen. The case has been the subject of ongoing legal proceedings and investigations.