The grand jury hearing evidence in the Manhattan District Attorney’s investigation into former President Donald Trump will not sit on the case again until April 24, a court administration source told Fox News.
The source said the grand jury will sit next week on Monday and Wednesday afternoon, but is not expected to meet on the Trump investigation. When proceedings are complete Wednesday, the source said the grand jury will be off for two weeks.
When asked for an explanation for the two-week hiatus, the source said: "It is a 6-month grand jury – they are told upfront what the schedule would/may be. That is standard."
MANHATTAN GRAND JURY WILL NOT MEET ON TRUMP CASE FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK: SOURCES
The secret grand jury wrapped its proceedings Monday afternoon without voting on Trump’s case, sources told Fox News on Monday. The proceedings were canceled for Wednesday. Monday's meeting came after the grand jury proceedings were canceled twice last week by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg.
Bragg has been investigating the $130,000 hush-money payment that then-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford. That payment was made in the weeks leading up to the 2016 presidential election in exchange for her silence about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump in 2006.
Cohen has said Trump directed the payments. Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 through his own company and was later reimbursed by Trump's company, which logged the payments as "legal expenses."
Trump has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and has repeatedly said the payments were "not a campaign violation" but rather a "simple private transaction."
The Trump Organization "grossed up" Cohen’s reimbursement for Daniels' payment for "tax purposes," according to federal prosecutors who filed the 2018 criminal charges against Cohen for the payments.
TRUMP-MANHATTAN DA: GRAND JURY WRAPS MONDAY PROCEEDINGS WITH NO VOTE IN TRUMP PROBE
Federal prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York decided not to charge Trump related to the Daniels payment in 2019, even as Cohen implicated him as part of his plea deal. The Federal Election Commission also tossed its investigation into the matter in 2021.
Over the weekend, Trump suggested the case had already been dropped against him.
"I think they've already dropped the case," Trump told reporters aboard his plane after appearing at his first 2024 campaign rally in Waco, Texas.
When asked for comment about Trump’s claim the case has been dropped, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung told Fox News Digital: "This has been dropped because everyone knows this was a partisan witch-hunt by a radical, leftist DA that sought to politically weaponize the Justice system to influence an election."
Meanwhile, Bragg has slammed House Republicans who have called for him to testify on Capitol Hill about the investigation.
"We evaluate cases in our jurisdiction based on the facts, the law, and the evidence. It is not appropriate for Congress to interfere with pending local investigations," the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said in a statement.
The office told Fox News Digital that Bragg stands by his previous pledge to publicly state the conclusion of the investigation, "whether we conclude our work without bringing charges, or move forward with an indictment."
TIED TO TRUMP: NEW YORK DA'S ACTIONS HAVE SOME REPUBLICANS RALLYING TO THE FORMER PRESIDENT
The Manhattan DA’s investigation into Trump began in 2019 by then-District Attorney Cyrus Vance. The probe was focused on possible bank, insurance and tax fraud. The case initially involved financial dealings of Trump’s Manhattan properties, including his flagship Fifth Avenue building, Trump Tower, and the valuation of his 213-acre estate Seven Springs in Westchester.
The investigation last year led to tax fraud charges against the Trump Organization and its finance chief, Allen Weisselberg.
Grand jury deliberations and votes are secret proceedings, and an indictment typically remains under seal until an arraignment.
