Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has been looking into the hush payments former President Donald Trump gave to adult film actress Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels, before the 2016 elections. Criminal charges could be brought against the former president.
The evidence was presented to a grand jury on Monday, January 30.
Several investigations against Trump are currently ongoing that may lead to other criminal charges. Among the witnesses summoned was David Pecker of the former publication, The National Enquirer, who was said to have been involved in the processing of payments to the actress. The National Enquirer’s former editor, Dylan Howard, and Jeffrey McConney and Deborah Tarasoff, both employed by Trump, were also asked to be witnesses.
Previously, it was revealed that Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal lawyer, made an agreement with Daniels, who said that she had an extramarital affair with the former president in 2005. The agreement entailed giving Daniels $130,000 in exchange for her silence about the affair while Trump was campaigning for president in the 2016 elections.
In 2018, Cohen chose a guilty plea for federal charges of violating the campaign finance law. According to him, a “candidate for federal office” instructed him to do so. He was compensated $420,000, recorded as “legal fees,” which was illegal in New York. Cohen was sentenced to prison and Trump was not charged.
Lanny Davis, Cohen’s attorney, said that they will be cooperating, should they be asked to testify.
New York has a five-year statute of limitations for such cases, but the law also states that it can be extended to five more years if the defendant is “continuously outside” the state. Trump had four years in the White House and has resided in Florida and New Jersey after leaving New York.
The former president has posted on his social media platform that the case is “a continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time” and maintains his innocence. Should the jury indict him, he will be required to be present in a criminal court in Manhattan to enter a plea.