Former President Trump praised the Manhattan grand jury investigating the hush money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels, saying that the evidence is overwhelmingly in his favor. He expressed his respect for the grand jury and the grand jury system as a whole in a post on Truth Social. Trump had previously predicted that he would be arrested in connection with the investigation, but a spokesperson for him said that the district attorney’s office did not tell Trump about the possible arrest.
A source familiar with the matter said that the grand jury convened by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg would not meet over the next month, putting off a possible indictment. Bragg had invited Trump to testify before the grand jury earlier this month, which some observers believed was a signal that charges might be coming. However, Trump’s attorney said that he would not testify.
The case stems from a payment that former Trump attorney Michael Cohen made to Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet about an alleged affair with Trump before the 2016 presidential election. Cohen pleaded guilty to a federal campaign finance violation and other charges in 2018 and was sentenced to three years in prison. He said Trump directed him to make the payment.
Trump has acknowledged reimbursing Cohen for the payment but denied having an affair with Daniels and said that the money did not come from his campaign funds. He has accused Bragg of advancing a politically motivated investigation and maintained his innocence.
In his post on Truth Social, Trump reiterated that the evidence is overwhelmingly in his favor and accused the grand jury of being highly partisan and hateful. He claimed that the grand jury is questioning the evidence put forward against him and said that it will not vote against a preponderance of evidence to indict him. However, legal experts have noted that reasonable cause, a lower standard than preponderance of evidence, is all that is needed for charges to be warranted in a grand jury.
