Donald Trump invited to testify before N.Y. grand jury, lawyer says

Former US president Donald Trump has been subpoenaed to testify before a New York grand jury investigating payments made to him during the 2016 presidential campaign, according to one of his lawyers.

Trump’s lawyer Joseph Tacopina confirmed Thursday that the Manhattan district attorney’s office has invited the former president to testify next week as prosecutors are close to a decision on whether to proceed with what could be the first criminal case brought against a former US president.

“To me, there’s nothing,” Tacopina told The Associated Press, adding that he doesn’t think prosecutors have made a decision “one way or the other” on whether to charge Trump.

He said there was no legal basis for the case.

“It’s just another example of them weaponizing the justice system against people. And it’s sort of unfair,” he said.

The office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, declined to comment. That invitation to testify before a grand jury often indicates a decision on an indictment is imminent.

The invitation to testify was first reported by The New York Times.

Multiple legal challenges

Any indictment would come as Trump makes a bid for the White House in 2024 while simultaneously battling legal trouble on multiple fronts.

Trump, in a long statement posted on the social media network, blasted the investigation as a “Political Witch who tried to eliminate the main candidate, in the Republican Party” and what he called a “corrupt, broken, and weaponized justice system.”

“I’m completely innocent,” he said.

Meanwhile, the district attorney in Atlanta said the decision was “imminent” during a two-year investigation into possible illegal interference in the 2020 election by Trump and his allies.

The US Justice Department’s special counsel is also investigating Trump and his allies’ efforts to overturn the election as well as the handling of classified documents at his Florida property.

A New York Grand Jury has been investigating Trump’s involvement in a $130,000 payment he made in 2016 to porn star Stormy Daniels to keep her from going public about a sexual encounter she said she had with a Republican years earlier.

The money was paid from the personal funds of Trump’s now-estranged lawyer, Michael Cohen, who later said he was reimbursed by the Trump Organization and also paid additional bonuses that eventually rose to $420,000.

Cohen pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2018 that payments, and others he helped arrange for model Karen McDougal through the parent company of the tabloid National Enquirer, guilty of illegal campaign contributions.

US federal prosecutors at the time decided not to bring charges against Trump, who is now president.

The probe is gathering momentum

The Manhattan district attorney’s office then launched its own investigation, which has been going on for years but has gained momentum in recent weeks.

Several figures close to Trump have been seen in recent days entering Bragg’s office for meetings with prosecutors, including former political adviser Kellyanne Conway and former spokeswoman Hope Hicks.

Cohen has also met with prosecutors several times, saying after a recent visit he thought the investigation was nearing a conclusion.

Under New York law, people who appear before a grand jury are granted immunity from prosecution for things they say during testimony, so potential targets of criminal investigations are generally invited to testify if they waive that immunity.

Lawyers generally advise their clients not to do so if there is potential for a criminal case.

It’s unclear what charges prosecutors may face.