The New York Grand Jury is about to enter a scheduled pause in the Trump case
MICHAEL R. SISAKMarch 29, 2023
The Manhattan grand jury investigating hush money paid on behalf of Donald Trump will consider other cases next week before taking a previously scheduled two-week break, a person familiar with the case said Wednesday. That means a vote on whether to indict the former president is likely to take place in late April at the earliest.
The break, which was scheduled in advance when the panel was convened in January, coincided with Passover, Easter and spring break for the New York City public school system.
The person confirming the grand jury schedule was not authorized to speak publicly about secret grand jury proceedings and did so on condition of anonymity. A message left at the district attorney’s office was not immediately returned.
What you need to know about Alvin Bragg, Manhattan district attorney in the Trump case
The grand jury meets regularly on Monday and Wednesday afternoons. It met Monday and a longtime Trump friend and potential star witness in the investigation was seen leaving the building where the grand jury was meeting. The grand jury was not scheduled to meet on Wednesday.
News earlier this month that Trump had been invited to appear before the grand jury fueled widespread speculation that an indictment was imminent. Trump himself added to that expectation with a post on his social media platform
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he expected to be arrested soon, though his representatives later said
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they had received no such indication from prosecutors.
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The prosecution has not made any public statements about the timing of possible indictments and has continued its work in secrecy for the past two weeks. On March 20, the grand jury heard from a witness favorable to Trump.
People familiar with how grand jury trials typically proceed warned that the schedule could change and prosecutors could still ask jurors to consider indictments or vote on an indictment on any of the days when they are expected to have other business meeting.
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Alvin Bragg
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and the prosecutors in charge of the grand jury investigation know exactly how the grand jury investigation proceeds and at what pace. They determine when witnesses are called to testify and will be the ones to decide if, and when, charges will be brought.
Since Trump’s post on March 18, authorities have stepped up security, deployed additional police officers, cordoned off the streets around the courthouse with barricades, and dispatched bomb-sniffing dogs.
They have also had to respond to numerous threats, including bomb threats and death threats, a suspicious gunpowder report and a protester who was arrested Tuesday after witnesses said they
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drawing a knife at passersby outside the courthouse.