Trump Grand Jury Has Gone Quiet and No One Knows Why
A New York grand jury hearing evidence as part of the hush money investigation into Donald Trump is not expected to make a decision on an indictment in the coming days, one week after the former president claimed he would be shortly arrested.
The panel under Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's probe is not expected to meet on Wednesday as scheduled, and then will hear about a matter separate from the Stormy Daniels hush money case on Thursday, reported the Associated Press citing unnamed sources. Other outlets, including CNN, NBC News and ABC News, also published similar reports but Newsweek has not independently verified this.
This would be the second time in a week that the grand jury has canceled its behind-closed-doors proceedings, having previously done so on Wednesday, March 22, with no reasons given. The panel not meeting this Wednesday also suggests that any indictment vote may not occur until next week.
Since Trump was asked to testify in New York, there has been speculation that the grand jury is close to voting on whether to make the historic decision to indict the former president. Trump is being investigated by the Manhattan district attorney over an alleged payment to adult film star Daniels of $130,000 in hush money during his 2016 presidential campaign. Trump denies any wrongdoing and denies having had an affair with Daniels in 2006.
The speculation increased after Trump said on Truth Social that he would be arrested as part of Bragg's probe on Tuesday, March 21, and called for his supporters to protest. However, it was only Trump who made this claim, with no indications an arrest was forthcoming given by prosecutors or Trump's own legal team.
The grand jury in the hush-money investigation meets on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, with David Pecker, the former head of the company that publishes the National Enquirer tabloid who was said to have turned down the chance to buy Daniels' story about the alleged affair, testifying for the second time to the grand jury during Monday's proceedings.
While delays and other interruptions are not unusual and could be unrelated to the investigation, such as a juror falling ill, the grand jury proceedings have increasingly been scrutinized amid suggestions that an indictment is happening soon, with each cancellation of a session resulting in speculation about what it could mean for the case.
Dave Aronberg, state attorney for Palm Beach County, said that people may be reading too much into the grand jury's schedule as the country awaits a possible indictment.
"If Trump had not come out with the Tuesday deadline, most people would not be talking about how the investigation was delayed or somehow in trouble," Aronberg told Newsweek.
Speaking to Newsmax on Tuesday, one week from the day the former president claimed he would be arrested, Trump attorney Lindsey Halligan suggested that Bragg's investigation was "dead."
"I think they just are trying to keep the case alive—but it looks like the case is dead," Halligan said. "If not, it should be. Bragg needs to wrap this case up, stop focusing on someone who doesn't even live in New York City, and focus on protecting those living in New York City from the violent crime going on there."
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office has been contacted for comment via email.
