Trump invited to testify to Manhattan grand jury
Former President Donald Trump may soon stand in a Manhattan courtroom to face criminal charges.
Prosecutors have informed him he may testify before a grand jury, a source confirmed to the Daily News on Thursday — the subject of the probe believed to be the hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election.
The invitation is typically extended when prosecutors are nearing a charging decision. The New York Times first reported the development, noting the invitation was for next week.
Trump, who’s seeking the Republican presidential nomination for 2024, took to his social media platform Truth Social to voice disgust with the probe.
“I did absolutely nothing wrong, I never had an affair with Stormy Daniels, nor would I have wanted to have an affair with Stormy Daniels,” he stated. “This is a political Witch-Hunt, trying to take down the leading candidate, by far, in the Republican Party.”
Lawyers consulting Trump about the Manhattan district attorney’s yearslong probe and various investigations declined to speak on the record. One said on background that he was unlikely to take DA Alvin Bragg up on the invitation. DA spokeswoman Danielle Filson declined to comment.
After landing in Florida, Trump’s lawyer Joe Tacopina told The News that he would represent the former president in the potential criminal case, after defending him at a civil rape trial this April in a lawsuit brought by writer E. Jean Carroll.
“Nothing has changed. If they bring a case, it will be a grave mistake on behalf of the Manhattan district attorney’s office. I mean, this case comes without precedent. It’s once again the justice system being used as a weapon against Donald Trump,” Tacopina said. “It’s not right, and it’s not gonna survive.”
The potential charges would mark the first ever brought against a former president. Sources involved in the case expect they will relate to how Trump and his business classified hush money reimbursement checks to Michael Cohen — and concealed them to hide their political motivations.