The Manhattan district attorney’s office on Monday will begin presenting evidence to a grand jury about Donald Trump’s role in paying hush money to a porn star during his 2016 presidential campaign.
The grand jury was recently impaneled, and witness testimony will soon begin, a clear signal that the district attorney, Alvin Bragg, is nearing a decision about whether to charge Trump.
Bragg’s decision to impanel a grand jury focusing around the hush money picks up where the longest-running criminal investigation of Trump left off. Bragg’s predecessor, Cyrus Vance, had begun presenting evidence that included the hush money, but also focused on Trump’s broader business practices.
Bragg abandoned that case and the presentation to a grand jury, which prompted resignations from two senior prosecutors.
On Monday, David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer, the tabloid that helped broker the deal with Stormy Daniels, was seen entering the building with his lawyer.
Prosecutors sought to interview several witnesses, including the National Enquirer’s former editor, Dylan Howard, and two employees at Trump’s company, Jeffrey McConney and Deborah Tarasoff.