Manhattan prosecutor begins presenting evidence in Trump-Stormy Daniels case to grand jury

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg began presenting evidence to a grand jury Monday about former President Donald Trump’s role in providing secret payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election, a source confirmed. legal to Fox News Digital.

Bragg’s investigation is one of several into Trump that may lead to criminal charges, and his decision to form a grand jury, first reported by the New York Times, indicates that it will soon decide whether to indict the former president. Bragg began calling witnesses before the jury Monday, including former National Enquirer editor David Pecker, who allegedly played a role in facilitating the payments to Daniels.

Pecker was present at the building where the grand jury met Monday, the source confirmed to Fox News.

Bragg has also contacted others to testify, including Dylan Howard, the former editor of the Enquirer, and two of Trump’s own employees, Jeffrey McConney and Deborah Tarasoff.

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Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks at a news conference after the Trump Organization sentencing hearing in New York Supreme Court on January 13, 2023 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Fox News contacted Trump’s legal team for a response. Trump’s attorney, Susan Necheles, responded with “no comment.” The Manhattan district attorney’s office also responded, “no comment.”

The news comes days after Trump dropped two lawsuits against New York Attorney General Letitia James, who has her own investigation into Trump and his dealings.

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Trump’s attorney, Alina Habba, said the appeal in Manhattan federal court “was voluntarily withdrawn for strategic purposes,” according to The Associated Press.

“I am pleased that Donald Trump has withdrawn his two pending actions against my office,” James said in a statement last week. “As we have demonstrated throughout, we have a legitimate legal case against him and his organization, and we cannot be intimidated or dissuaded from following him.”

Trump also faces an investigation by special counsel into his handling of classified documents. The FBI raided his Mar-a-Lago home last year after he refused to return classified material to the National Archives.

Former President Donald Trump.
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

FILE – New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a news conference, Sept. 21, 2022, in New York. Former President Donald Trump has dropped efforts to revive his federal lawsuit against James, the second time he has halted legal action against her after a judge fined him and his lawyers nearly $1 million last week for filing frivolous cases. .
(AP Photo/Brittainy Newman, File))

Trump and his likely 2024 presidential opponent, President Biden, face investigations by special lawyers related to classified documents.

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Biden’s lawyers and the Justice Department discovered four caches of classified documents at the Washington offices of a Biden think tank and his private residence in Wilmington, Delaware.