On Donald Trump’s case for hush money to Stormy Daniels: CNN Primetime: Inside the Trump Investigations and New York City
CNN takes a closer look at the legal drama surrounding Donald Trump. CNN will be airing its show, “CNN Primetime: Inside the Trump Investigations,” on Tuesday, March 21.
Officials in New York and Washington, DC, are preparing for potential protests as a grand jury empaneled as part of the investigation into Donald Trump’s alleged role in a scheme to pay hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels continues to weigh possible charges.
In New York City – where the grand jury has been meeting – all NYPD officers are expected to be in uniform and ready for deployment Tuesday, according to an internal memo that a source shared with CNN. There is no threat right now, law enforcement officials told CNN.
The memo was written in response to a weekend of social media posts by Trump, where he called for his supporters to protest, similar to the calls he made for protesters in DC after his 2020 election loss. While Washington police are similarly preparing, the US Capitol Police force “is not currently tracking any direct or credible threats to the US Capitol,” according to a department intelligence assessment obtained Monday by CNN.
The district attorney in Manhattan appears to be the closest to bringing charges in the special counsel case. There is uncertainty about how long the investigation will continue and advisers to the former president are frustrated that there is no information about an indictment and Trump’s appearance in New York.
Attorney Robert Costello, appearing on behalf of Trump, testified on Monday to call into question testimony from Michael Cohen, a key witness for the prosecution. Cohen, who was on standby that day to testify as a rebuttal witness, left without being called, leaving the door open for him to be called back if prosecutors believe they need him.
Cohen was not needed to be a rebuttal witness according to the statement provided to CNN by his lawyer.
Multiple people briefed on the matter said that Trump believes that an indictment could help him politically, and he has been trying to get his team revved up so that he can convince them to vote for him.
On Capitol Hill, House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, House Oversight Chairman James Comer and House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil said they intend to investigate whether Bragg and his office used federal public safety funds as part of its grand jury probe in an extraordinary move to intervene in the investigation.
A spokesperson for Bragg responded by saying that the district attorney’s team “will not be intimidated by attempts to undermine the justice process, nor will we let baseless accusations deter us from fairly applying the law.”
“In every prosecution, we follow the law without fear or favor to uncover the truth. Our lawyers are hard at work.
Behind the gilded doors of Mar-a-Lago, former President Donald Trump and his advisers are preparing for several different potential scenarios related to a possible indictment from the Manhattan grand jury probing a hush money scheme.
Two advisers said that the former president appears to have resigned himself to the likelihood of an indictment, with one close adviser calling his perceived distancing from the matter “compartmentalization.”
There are signs that the investigation into Donald Trumps alleged role in the scheme to pay Stormy Daniels is close to conclusion, but it is not clear yet when the charges will be levied against the former president.
CNN reported exclusively Tuesday that communications between Daniels and an attorney who is now representing Trump have been turned over to the Manhattan district attorney. The exchanges – said to date back to 2018, when Daniels was seeking representation – raise the possibility that the Trump attorney, Joe Tacopina, could be sidelined from Trump’s defense.
CNN has not seen the records in question, and Tacopina denies that there is a conflict or that confidential information was shared with his office. He says he neither met nor spoke to Daniels. Ethics experts said the impact that the disclosure will have on the case will depend on the circumstances and the substance of the communications.
The finding that the DC District Court made part of a ruling Friday makes it clear that the Justice Department believes that Trump may have committed a crime. Trump’s attorneys have the right to shield conversations with their clients from being seen by the law.
Trump’s campaign for civil war: tossing an indictment from a grand jury in a Fulton county grand jury
An adviser for Trump questioned whether an indictment from the New York grand jury would affect plans to hold a big campaign rally in Texas on Saturday.
Over the weekend, Trump on his social media page called for protests of what he said was his impending arrest. He moved away from that language in the past week after advisers and his allies called for a toned down of his rhetoric.
The FBI and Department of Homeland Security are keeping an eye on online calls for civil war since Donald Trump made those calls. US security experts told CNN that it was limited to chatter, and lacked actionable information before the attack on the US Capitol.
The legal peril surrounding Donald Trump is reaching a peak at the time when the former president is campaigning in a Republican primary that is more focused on criminal investigations in New York and Washington.
A source familiar with the probe said that the office of the New York District Attorney has been suggesting to an attorney for at least one witness that they need to give more testimony.
As the investigation nears its final stages, prosecutors are considering the historic nature of prosecuting a former president – an unprecedented act, sources tell CNN. Other sources tell CNN the DA’s office is taking a moment to regroup after the events of the past week.
The Justice Department was given just hours to file briefs by the appeals court in the case, which may indicate that the judges think the case is critical and must be decided quickly.
The former president in Georgia is being investigated over a campaign to overturn the 2020 election in the state. Trump’s attorneys this week asked a judge to toss the final report and evidence from a special grand jury in Fulton County.