USA TODAY US Edition

Attorney: Trump probably won’t talk to grand jury in Stormy Daniels case

- David Jackson

WASHINGTON – Former President Donald Trump probably will not testify before a New York City grand jury that is considerin­g indicting him over hush money to an alleged former mistress, his attorney said Monday.

“We have no plans on participat­ing in that proceeding,” Trump attorney Joe Tacopina told ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “Decision needs to be made still. There’s been no deadline set, so we’ll wait and see.”

A Manhattan grand jury is investigat­ing the $130,000 that went to former porn star Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 election.

Michael Cohen, the former Trump attorney who made the payment, is to testify to the grand jury in the coming days.

The grand jury reportedly is investigat­ing whether the hush money amounted to an improper campaign contributi­on and was planned in order to evade campaign finance laws.

Trump, who has denied an affair with Daniels, has protested the prospect of an indictment. On the Truth Social media site, he said recently that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg “only cares about ‘getting Trump.’ ”

Bragg told MSNBC over the weekend that politics has nothing to do with it: “We follow the facts. It doesn’t matter what party you are, it doesn’t matter your background. What did you do? And what does the law say?”

The Daniels case is one of several investigat­ions looming over Trump, even as he pursues another White House bid.

Trump faces probes in Atlanta and Washington over his efforts to overturn his loss in the 2020 presidenti­al election and the subsequent insurrecti­on of Jan. 6, 2021.

Trump also is under investigat­ion over his handling of classified documents.

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