Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, has begun presenting evidence of Trump's criminal behavior to a Manhattan Grand Jury regarding hush money payments made surrounding the Stormy Daniels payment. The New York Times describes this as a "dramatic escalation of the inquiry, and potentially sets the case on a path toward criminal charges against the former president."
OH REALLY? We all thought this case was long dead, but it appears to be revived and hurtling towards possible charges.
The case fell off the radar for over a year, but Alvin Bragg was working behind the scenes to gather more evidence and apparently empaneled a Grand Jury very under the radar. Evidence was presented starting on Monday, catching the media off guard and leading to a flurry of tweets and news reports about everyone being caught completely off guard by this sleeper case. If the Grand Jury returns a "true bill", Donald Trump could face criminal charges in a matter of months.
Witnesses were seen entering the judicial building in Lower Manhattan on Monday morning. David Pecker (yes, that is his real name), the former publisher of The National Enquirer, was one of those witnesses. Pecker (snicker) reportedly "broker[ed] the deal with the porn star, Stormy Daniels." In addition to Pecker, prosecutors have worked to interview other key witnesses, including the tabloid’s former editor, Dylan Howard, and two employees from the Trump Organization, Jeffrey McConney and Deborah Tarasoff. It is reported that they have not testified in front of the Grand Jury yet, but that is subject to change at any time as witnesses make their appearances. Additionally, prosecutors have contacted officials from Trump's 2016 campaign and have subpoenaed phone records and requested documents related to the hush money payments. A reminder - Grand Jury testimony and witnesses are kept secret, unless witnesses choose to disclose their participation. That can change if the Grand Jury leads to charges and witnesses become trial witnesses.
But do not get your hopes up about Trump ending up in prison over this. First of all, this is a tough case to convict on, and even if Trump is found guilty, it is a low level felony and Trump has a clean record, so he would most likely not see the inside of a jail cell for this. Still, this sleeper case definitely adds to Trump's legal woes (and legal bills) as he continues to try to claw his way back into the White House.
As Rachel Maddow famously says, "Watch This Space."
