In this case, that second offense may be a violation of New York State Election Law. Although hush money is not inherently illegal, the $130,000 money Mr. Prosecutors could argue that the money became an improper donation to Trump’s campaign because the money silenced Ms. Daniels and benefited her candidacy.
Linking a criminal charge to a state election law violation would be a novel legal principle for any criminal case, let alone a case against a former president, that a judge or appeals court could throw out or reduce the criminal charge. Misbehavior.
Mr. This isn’t the first Manhattan grand jury to hear evidence about Trump. Before leaving office at the end of 2021, Mr. Prague’s predecessor, Cyrus R. Vance Jr. instructed prosecutors to begin presenting evidence to an earlier grand jury. That potential lawsuit focused on the former president’s business practices, in particular how he fraudulently inflated his net worth by billions of dollars in order to get favorable terms on loans and other benefits.
But Mr. Bragg, upon taking office last year, became concerned about the strength of the case and halted the presentation, prompting the resignation of two senior prosecutors who led the investigation.
However, Mr. Part of the investigation into Trump’s net worth is ongoing, people familiar with the matter said.
Defendants rarely choose to testify before a grand jury, and Mr Trump is unlikely to do so. As a potential defendant, he must waive immunity, meaning his testimony can be used against him if he is charged. Although he could have a lawyer to advise him, the lawyer would be prohibited from speaking to jurors, and there would be some limits on the questions lawyers could ask the former president.
In recent years, Mr. Trump has been wary of answering questions under oath, given the legal intrigue swirling around him. When the New York attorney general fired him in a civil suit last year, Mr. Trump refused to provide any information, exercising his Fifth Amendment right to refuse to answer questions 400 times in four hours. If he testifies to this grand jury about the hush money, he won’t have that option.
Maggie Haberman And Sean Piccoli Contributed report.
