The New York District Attorney’s office is investigating former President Donald Trump. The office is investigating Trump over a $130,000 payment to adult film actor Stormy Daniels made just before the 2016 election to quiet her allegations of an affair between the two. The N.Y. grand jury is investigating whether Trump falsified his records of the hush money payment to cover up a violation of campaign finance laws.
If the jury decides that he falsified his records of the hush money payment, he may get indicted. Trump would be the first U.S. president to get criminally charged.
On his social media site, Truth Social, Trump posted a message on Mar. 18 that said “THE FAR & AWAY LEADING REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE AND FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WILL BE ARRESTED ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK. PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!”
This caused many Trump supporters to protest outside the Manhattan criminal courthouse on March 21 where the case is being heard. Although Trump was not indicted, as he claimed he would be, there were many police officers ready for the chaos to arise if he was.
Two key witnesses shared their testimonies to the grand jury which will help move along the process. Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen testified to a grand jury on March 13 and Robert Costello— who was a former legal advisor to Cohen— testified on March 20.
Cohen allegedly made the $130,000 hush money payment to Stormy Daniels in late October 2016 after Trump authorized the payment. Trump reimbursed him, signing monthly checks to Cohen while in office. Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to federal charges involving the hush money. The current case is centered on Trump and the Trump Organization which handled the reimbursement payments to Cohen.
Before the testimony Cohen said that his “goal is to tell the truth.”
“This is all about accountability. [Trump] needs to be held accountable for his dirty deeds,”Cohen said.
The other witness, Robert Costello, acted as a legal advisor to Cohen during the federal investigation.
Costello’s testimony likely attacked Cohen’s credibility, since Cohen lied about a Trump hotel deal in Moscow in addition to his involvement with the payments to Daniels.
After a two-hour long testimony, Costello said, “I told the grand jury that this guy [Cohen] couldn’t tell the truth if you put a gun to his head.”
Cohen may be called back to the courthouse to rebut Costello’s testimony but has not been called back yet.
On March 22 and 23, the grand jury did not meet about the case. About the ongoing pause of the case, Costello said, “I think the DA now has to call a time-out and decide if they can go forward with this case and this witness”.
A Columbia law professor, John Coffee, thinks the law could be a problem for prosecutors to charge Trump. “The New York statute says it’s a misdemeanor if you just falsify the records. It’s a felony if you falsify the record in order to conceal a crime,” said Coffee. “But if the crime is a federal crime that is a different ball of wax. It is not at all clear that N.Y. state has jurisdiction or authority to find a violation of a federal crime.”
With the 2024 presidential election soon approaching, an indictment could be detrimental to Trump’s future presidential campaign. Legal experts say it is a complicated case and every detail needs to be reviewed in order for the grand jury to legally move forward, so it is still unknown when an indictment may occur.