He also said that if he got shot, he would probably win the presidency in 2024, the sources said. Over the weekend, he told various allies he didn’t care if someone shot him, as he would become “a martyr” if so. Trump’s legal team has recommended Trump allow them to quietly turn him in and schedule a remote appearance, even citing Secret Service guidance about security.īut Trump has rejected that approach. Trump’s insistence that he wants to be handcuffed behind his back for a perp walk appears to come from motivations including a desire to show defiance for what he sees as an unfair prosecution, and to have the whole affair galvanize his base for the 2024 presidential campaign.īut above all, sources close to Trump said, he is deeply anxious that any special arrangements, like making his first appearance by video link or skulking into the courthouse via an obscure entrance, would make him look weak or like a loser. The former president has reasoned that since he would need to go to Manhattan criminal court for fingerprinting and a mugshot, sources said, he might as well seek to turn it into a spectacle. Trump has been resigned to criminal charges and has repeatedly insisted he wants to be handcuffed when he appears in court, the Guardian has reported. What charges Bragg might seek remains unclear, though some members of Trump’s legal team believe the most likely scenario involves falsifying business records coupled with tax fraud. The adjournment sparked speculation among people close to Donald Trump, advisers asking if it signalled weaknesses in the case being prosecuted by the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, or whether there was more damning evidence to come.Ī spokesperson for the district attorney did not respond to a request for comment. It may hear from an additional witness before being asked to vote on whether to return an indictment in connection with the hush money payment, the source said. The grand jury meets in the afternoons on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays but is not required to meet three times every week. The reason for the schedule change was not immediately clear. The Manhattan grand jury expected to consider criminal charges against Donald Trump will not meet on Wednesday, according to a source familiar with the matter, and is on standby about meeting on Thursday. Trump over the weekend stated that he expected to be arrested on Tuesday, though the day came and went without that happening.Hugo Lowell, the Guardian’s man for all things Trump-related, is in New York and has filed the following report from Manhattan criminal court, where the grand jury in the Stormy Daniels hush money case would usually meet on a Wednesday but we now know will not today. Prosecutors had recently invited Trump himself to appear before the grand jury, and on Monday heard from a witness favorable to his case as a way to ensure that the panel would be presented with any information that could conceivably be considered exculpatory. The district attorney’s office declined to comment on the postponement, which was earlier reported by Business Insider. Grand jury proceedings are shrouded in secrecy, making it hard to predict with certainty what action might be taken and when.Īs the panel has been hearing from final witnesses, Trump has contended his arrest is imminent and law enforcement officials have accelerated security preparations in the event of unrest accompanying an unprecedented charge against a former U.S. Wednesday’s abrupt development, which a person familiar with the matter said was not connected to security concerns, came amid growing anticipation that Trump could soon be charged. When the grand jurors next meet, they may hear from yet another witness, according to a person familiar with proceedings that appear to be nearing a decisive vote on whether or not to indict Trump.
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