Trump lashes out as grand jury to hear evidence on porn star payoff scheme
New York City prosecutors are re-interviewing witnesses connected to the hush money case with an eye towards seeking an indictment of Mr Trump
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump lashed out at the Manhattan district attorney and claimed he “never had an affair” after it was revealed that a grand jury would hear evidence on hush money payments to adult film star Stormey Daniels.
Prosecutors with the Manhattan district attorney’s office have started presenting a recently empaneled grand jury with evidence regarding the hush money paid to keep Ms Daniels from revealing his adulterous affair with her before the 2016 election.
“They long ago missed the Statute of Limitations, & I recently won big money against ‘Stormy’ in the 9th Circuit - NEVER HAD AN AFFAIR. This is old news!” Mr Trump said on Truth Social.
According to The New York Times, former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, a witness who helped arrange the payment agreement between Mr Trump and adult across Stormy Daniels, was seen entering the New York City building where the grand jury is meeting.
Citing people knowledgable about the matter, the Times reported that Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s office is now laying groundwork to seek an indictment of the twice-impeached ex-president and will soon make a decision about whether to do so.
Prosecutors also recently met with another potential witness in the case, Mr Trump’s ex-personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen.
Cohen was the person reponsible for delivering the payments to Ms Daniels at Mr Trump’s direction, according to court documents federal prosecutors filed when Mr Cohen was indicted on federal charges related to the scheme. He later pleaded guilty and spent time in federal prison before being released to home confinement during the Covid-19 pandemic.
At a 2018 plea hearing, Cohen told a Manhattan federal judge that he’d made payments to Ms Daniels “in coordination with and at the direction of a candidate for federal office,” with the candidate in question being Mr Trump.
“I participated in this conduct, which on my part took place in Manhattan, for the principal purpose of influencing the election” for president in 2016,” he said at the time.
The charges Mr Trump could face stemming from the scheme could potentially focus on whether the former president’s company falsified business records to disguise the payments to Mr Cohen as compensation for legal services, rather than as reimbursement for a loan he took out to finance the payment he made for Mr Trump to Ms Daniels.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments