Will a Grand Jury Indict Donald Trump Today?
In New York, people are already preparing for it.
The news ticker.
Decision
adjourned: The jury in Donald Trump's trial will meet today to decide on an indictment.
Charges
against
Donald Trump
?
Ex-president wants to appear in court voluntarily.
Anger also about
secret government documents
: Donald Trump is threatened with indictment in the USA.
Update from March 23, 10 a.m.:
The police in New York have started to cordon off a large area of Trump Tower in the Manhattan district.
Security precautions have also been massively increased around the district courthouse.
The grand jury against Donald Trump could meet there today to decide on a possible indictment against the ex-president.
Update from March 23, 4:15 a.m .:
The grand jury in Manhattan, which is investigating Donald Trump's role in the hush money payments to Stormy Daniels a few days before the 2016 presidential election, surprisingly did not meet on Wednesday.
This delays the decision on whether Trump will become the first president to face criminal charges.
Decision on charges against Donald Trump postponed
Update March 22, 5:22 p.m.:
According to various media reports, including
the New York Times
and
Business Insider
, the Trump grand jury was granted a day off.
In concrete terms, this means that in all likelihood there will be no indictment against ex-President Donald Trump today.
The session is scheduled to resume on Thursday.
Trump's attorney, Joseph Tacopina, has yet to comment on the reports.
Donald Trump: The biggest scandals and missteps
Donald Trump: The biggest scandals and missteps
+
Donald Trump, the most controversial US president, held the office from 2017 to 2021.
Republican politics is marked by scandals and provocations.
The extreme right-wing, misogynistic and racist politician wants to run again in 2024.
© Brandon Bell / dpa
Trump could face criminal charges
Update March 22, 12:10 p.m.:
Communications between Donald Trump's attorney and Stormy Daniels have been turned over to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office.
The agency is preparing to potentially criminally indict the former president.
Stormy Daniels' attorney Clark Brewster told
CNN
that the notes between her and Trump's personal attorney, Joe Tacopina, date from when she was seeking legal counsel in 2018.
Brewster said the news shows Daniels revealed confidential information to Tacopina about her relationship with the former president.
According to
CNN, it did not see the recordings itself.
Update March 22, 11:00 a.m.:
On a historic day for America, Donald Trump could become the first former president to be impeached today.
The Manhattan grand jury investigating Trump's role in the hush money payments to Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election will meet at 2 p.m. local time on Wednesday afternoon.
Update March 22, 10:30 am:
Donald Trump has reportedly told his advisers that he wants to appear in court in handcuffs if he is indicted by a Manhattan grand jury.
The former president argued that since he had to go to court and face authorities for fingerprinting and a mugshot, he might as well turn it all into a "spectacle," British newspaper The Guardian reported,
citing
insiders
.
Investigations against Donald Trump in New York
First report:
New York – Donald Trump could be indicted as early as Wednesday (March 22) if prosecutors in Manhattan complete their investigation into the hush money payments to Stormy Daniels.
The allegations against the former president relate to years of investigations into Donald Trump for payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
Trump's former attorney, Michael Cohen, wire Daniels $130,000 during the 2016 presidential campaign to keep her from discussing her affair with the then-Republican nominee.
Trump, in turn, is said to have paid the money back to Cohen in installments, but may have violated campaign finance laws.
That would be punishable.
Indictment against Donald Trump increasingly likely
However, it is still not certain when - and also if - there will be an indictment.
US media do not rule out that charges could be brought this week.
A so-called grand jury votes on this.
In the United States, a jury decides whether to indict a case after the prosecutor has presented evidence.
It is composed of citizens selected at random from voter records or other public registers.
Grand juries are usually involved when it comes to larger and more controversial cases.
An indictment in the case seems increasingly likely.
According to reports, a competent jury will meet again on Wednesday - a vote on an indictment is then possible.
Trump meanwhile continued to rage against the judiciary and made mood against the responsible district attorney Alvin Bragg.
However, the grand jury does not act publicly - so it is unclear what happens behind closed doors.
What is certain, however, is that the panel has heard a number of witnesses in the case in recent weeks.
All signs point to an indictment being imminent.
As a new possible date for a vote, Wednesday is now in the room.
It is also possible that the jury will then hear other witnesses.
The grand jury usually consists of 23 citizens.
A simple majority is enough to vote for an impeachment.
Donald Trump wants to appear in court voluntarily
Trump's environment had previously assured that the ex-president would appear in court voluntarily.
This would not require a sensational arrest.
Trump would then most likely have to appear in New York – where his fingerprints would be taken and photos taken.
All of this would happen behind closed doors.
This is usually followed by the reading out of the indictment – this is usually public.
Trump could then plead “guilty” or “not guilty”, for example.
It is considered likely that Trump could go home after such a formal procedure.
The media expect that such an appointment - should there be an indictment - will not be made until next week.
However, it can be assumed that Trump or the public prosecutor's office will make the charges public beforehand.
Trump, who is running again for a Republican presidential nomination, is using the current attention surrounding the case to raise funds.
He also incites his followers against the judiciary.
There is no "crime of any kind," Trump wrote on Truth Social, a network he co-founded.
Some Republicans had targeted and sharply attacked the responsible district attorney Bragg in the past few days.
Security has been tightened around the New York court.
Donald Trump: Anger also about secret government documents
However, the hush money affair is not Trump's only problem.
The Special Prosecutor's Office in Washington reportedly has evidence the former president misled his own attorneys about handling classified information at Mar-a-Lago.
Again, Trump could face indictment in the near future.
(With agency material)
List of rubrics: © IMAGO/Niyi Fote
