NY grand jury investigating Trump will break for most of April, source says
By Lauren del Valle, Jeremy Herb and Ariel Edwards-Levy, CNN
The Manhattan grand jury hearing the hush money case involving former President Donald Trump is currently scheduled to break after April 5 and restart later in the month, according to a source familiar with the matter.
If the grand jury does not hear the case again for several weeks, it will pause what had been a wave of anticipation that a former president could be indicted for the first time in American history. Trump himself incorrectly predicted he would be arrested last week amid news reports about security preparations being made in the event of an indictment.
It comes as a new Quinnipiac University poll shows that 55% of Americans view the accusations against Trump as at least somewhat serious.
The planned hiatus surrounding upcoming religious holidays and city public schools’ spring vacation was previously scheduled for the investigative grand jury, which was empaneled to serve for six months.
The grand jury is also not expected to hear the Trump hush money case Thursday or next week when they’re scheduled to hear other cases, the source said.
Grand jury proceedings are secret and prosecutors can change plans for the panel at any time.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation into Trump had appeared to be nearing a conclusion earlier this month after the former president was invited to testify before the grand jury.
Since then, two more witnesses have testified, including lawyer Robert Costello, who appeared on Trump’s behalf. On Monday, the grand jury heard testimony from David Pecker, the former chairman of the publisher of the National Enquirer who played a key role in the hush money payment.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office has been investigating Trump over the reimbursement of a hush money payment Trump’s then-lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen made to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election for her silence about an alleged affair a decade earlier. Trump has denied the affair.
The New York case is one of several investigations that could pose legal troubles for Trump. In Washington, special counsel Jack Smith is investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol and the handling of classified documents at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. And in Georgia, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election in the state.
A spokeswoman for Bragg’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Most Americans call hush money probe accusations against Trump serious, new Quinnipiac poll finds
Most Americans view the accusations against Trump as at least somewhat serious (55%), a new Quinnipiac University poll finds, including 32% who call the accusations very serious.
A majority also say they believe the case against him is largely motivated by politics (62%) rather than by the law.
Just 29% of the public calls Trump honest, with 64% saying he is not.
Most, 57%, say if criminal charges are filed against Trump in one of the investigations he faces, that should disqualify him from another presidential run, while 38% say criminal charges should not disqualify him.
Republicans, the survey finds, are largely standing by Trump regarding his legal jeopardy.
Three-quarters (75%) of Republicans say that criminal charges should not disqualify Trump from a presidential run, and 76% say the accusations that Trump faces in the alleged hush money case are not too serious or not serious at all. A similar 73% of Republicans say that Trump’s impact on the GOP overall has been positive, rather than negative.
This story has been updated with additional details.
The-CNN-Wire
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