The seemingly never-ending saga to ‘get Trump’ took a few twists and turns on Wednesday, when a grand jury that had been expected to indict the former President had a meeting canceled and a letter surfaced claiming Trump never reimbursed his lawyer for hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels.
The hush money payment is at the heart of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against Trump.
The grand jury was expected to meet yesterday to hear from an additional witness, but Bragg canceled the meeting due to what sources have told Fox News is “major dissension” in his office.
One source told Fox that Bragg is having a tough time convincing members on potential charges because of the “weakness” of the case.
The Manhattan DA has a record of reducing felonious crimes to misdemeanors and letting criminals roam the streets. The widow of fallen NYPD Detective Jason Rivera, during a heartbreaking eulogy last January, criticized Bragg for what many believe are his ‘soft on crime’ policies.
Yet he has found time to aggressively pursue Trump over what amounts to a minor alleged campaign finance violation. And anti-Trumpers have been frothing at the mouth since last week about his possible arrest.
The grand jury in the Trump indictment case was placed “on standby” and is expected to convene at noon on Thursday.
CONFIRMATION: Manhattan DA canceled the grand jury proceedings for today after a disastrous hearing where it was learned he had hidden hundreds of pages of evidence clearing President Trump. Bragg asked jurors to be ‘standby’ for tomorrow suggesting he https://t.co/SWLCZOIPr9…
— @amuse (@amuse) March 22, 2023
RELATED: Trump Spikes The Football After Winning Court Case, Stormy Daniels Is Ordered To Pay His Legal Fees
Trump Indictment on Hold, Bombshell Letter Surfaces Which Could Throw the Entire Case
Further adding to Bragg’s woes in the Trump indictment matter is a letter obtained exclusively by the Daily Mail which shows former lawyer Michael Cohen explicitly stating the Republican nominee for President did NOT reimburse him for hush money payments to Daniels.
The outlet refers to the letter as a potential “smoking gun.”
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Gregory Clifford, claimed she had sex with the former President in 2006, a claim he denies, but which led to Cohen paying $130,000 in exchange for her keeping quiet about the alleged relationship.
Cohen, according to the New York Post, is poised to serve as Bragg’s star witness in the case against Trump.
But in a 2018 letter to federal authorities, the lawyer through his own attorney contradicted recent grand jury testimony saying at the time that he was not reimbursed by Trump or his organization for hush money payments to the porn actress.
BREAKING: Letter from Michael Cohen claiming Donald Trump did not reimburse him for hush money paid to Stormy Daniels appears to fly in the face of the star witness’s grand jury testimony, Daily Mail reports pic.twitter.com/K7nnmImMqV
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) March 22, 2023
And there was no gray area in the statements made in the letter.
“Mr. Cohen used his own personal funds,” wrote Cohen’s attorney, Stephen Ryan. “Neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction with Ms. Clifford, and neither reimbursed Mr. Cohen for the payment directly or indirectly.”
The New York grand jury investigating former President Trump is expected to reconvene today, after a surprising decision not to gather yesterday. @GarrettHaake reports on the latest. pic.twitter.com/u9bdE2nYay
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) March 23, 2023
RELATED: Chris Cuomo Caught on Tape Coaching Michael Cohen On How To Answer Trump Questions
A Flimsy Case Gets Flimsier
It’s impossible to overstate just how bad this letter is for a Manhattan DA who is clearly trying to make a name for himself off an already flimsy legal argument against a former President.
Bragg, already looking ever more like a Keystone Kop, is going to have a tough time pursuing the Trump indictment based on the new evidence. But he was already going to have a difficult time regardless. This is a case that would never see the light of day if it didn’t involve a Republican.
“The bombshell document,” writes the Daily Mail, “could throw a wrench in the works of prosecutors pursuing criminal charges against Trump over the payments.”
First they concealed 41,000 hours of exculpatory J6 footage
Now we learn NY DA Alvin Bragg didn’t show the Grand Jury a letter from Michael Cohen’s lawyer saying he paid Stormy & didn’t get reimbursed by Trump
When will these corrupt prosecutors get prosecuted?
— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) March 23, 2023
If nothing else, it casts doubt on the credibility of Bragg’s star witness.
Cohen served a three-year sentence for tax evasion, bank fraud, and lying to Congress stemming from the payment to Daniels, along with another to model Karen McDougal, who also claimed she slept with Trump.
With that as background, former Brooklyn prosecutor Julie Rendelman tells the New York Post that the newly surfaced 2018 letter would certainly aid Trump’s defense should Bragg move forward with an indictment.
“I think it’s just going to open the door to additional questions of his credibility and give more opportunity for further cross-examination — as though they didn’t have enough,” Rendelman said.
Michael Cohen lied to the grand jury https://t.co/Em4jBclvst
— Jack Posobiec ?? (@JackPosobiec) March 22, 2023
Some social media experts suggested that Trump had previously admitted to paying off Daniels on Twitter, though even then his comments stated the money did not come from his campaign.
“Money from the campaign, or campaign contributions, played no roll in this transaction,” Trump tweeted in 2018.
Trump literally tweeted that he paid Stormy Daniels for her silence lol https://t.co/IksZ5UVkHw
— Damin Toell (@damintoell) March 23, 2023
Trump took to his Truth Social media platform to declare the letter to be “totally exculpatory” and called for an end to Bragg’s “witch hunt.”
“Cohen admits that he did it himself,” the GOP frontrunner insists. “The D.A. should get on with prosecuting violent criminals, so people can walk down the sidewalks of New York without being murdered!”
“Cohen should be prosecuted for lying and all of the tumult and cost he put the D.A.’s Office through,” said Trump. “Also, the case against ‘Trump’ should be dropped immediately, prior to a finding of Prosecutorial Misconduct.”
Fox News notes that the case against Trump is facing significant peril, with sources indicating “there is a real chance Bragg may not indict the former president.”
Which would lead to a never-ending stream of tears from leftists on social media.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) indicates he is already looking into Bragg’s “unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority.”
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