Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan District Attorney, held a grand jury on Wednesday, but it is unclear why the jury did not hear from any witnesses or vote on potential charges against former president Donald Trump.
Over the weekend, Trump had posted on Truth Social that he was expecting to be arrested on Tuesday after hearing news reports of his potential indictment on the previous Friday. Despite the NYPD preparing for a potential riot with an increased force and barricades, D.A. Alvin Bragg has suspended the proceedings for the rest of the week.
According to a publication by Rolling Stone, several legal experts believe Bragg’s case is flimsy. Prosecutors are seeking to convince a grand jury that if the $130,000 payment was made to actress Stormy Daniels from Trump’s then-attorney Michael Cohen, it would constitute an illegal business practice. However, a letter from Cohen’s legal counsel has informed the Federal Election Commission that Cohen used his own personal funds for the payment and was not reimbursed by Trump.
Randy Zelin, an adjunct professor at Cornell Law School who has been a criminal defense attorney for 32 years and has worked as a prosecutor, told Rolling Stone that he doesn’t believe the felony charge will stick. Zelin, who is admittedly not a Trump supporter said:
“I think that the district attorney’s office in New York County is running a great risk of diluting the strength of other potential cases brought by other prosecutors, because this is a weak case — legally, it is a weak case.”
