The Manhattan grand jury hearing evidence about former President Donald Trump’s role in paying hush money to a porn star won’t take action this week, people familiar with the matter said.
Grand jurors met Thursday, but to hear another matter unrelated to Mr. Trump, the people said. It is common for grand juries in New York to hear multiple cases at a time. Grand jury schedules can be unpredictable because panels juggle cases with competing demands and deadlines, former prosecutors said.
The grand jurors were informed Wednesday that they would reconvene Thursday. A scheduled meeting Wednesday was called off by the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, which is presenting evidence that could lay the groundwork for charges against Mr. Trump. Because the grand jury typically doesn’t meet on Fridays, any action in the Trump matter likely won’t occur until next week at the earliest.
Prosecutors have considered charging Mr. Trump with falsifying business records to hide the payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, which was made ahead of the 2016 election to keep her from going public with allegations that she had an affair with Mr. Trump. He denies the affair and says he has engaged in no wrongdoing.
Mr. Trump wrote on his social-media network Thursday that he didn’t commit a crime. “BRAGG REFUSES TO STOP DESPITE OVERWHELMING EVIDENCE TO THE CONTRARY,” Mr. Trump wrote of Mr. Bragg, a Democrat.
Also on Thursday, Mr. Bragg’s office rebuffed requests by three Republican chairmen of U.S. House committees who had demanded communications, documents and testimony relating to the potential indictment of Mr. Trump. The committee chairs said pursuing charges against Mr. Trump was an “unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority.”
In a letter sent Thursday, Mr. Bragg’s general counsel said the requests were an unprecedented inquiry into a local prosecution and “an unlawful incursion into New York’s sovereignty,” noting that Congress didn’t oversee local prosecutors enforcing state law. The general counsel said the office would prepare a second letter describing how it makes use of federal public-safety funds. The office requested a meeting to determine whether the lawmakers had a “legitimate legislative purpose” in the requested materials.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R., Ohio) sent separate letters Wednesday to former Manhattan prosecutors Carey Dunne and Mark Pomerantz, both of whom worked on the Trump investigation and resigned after Mr. Bragg declined to move forward with an earlier, broader case against Mr. Trump. Those letters requested documents and communications related to the district attorney’s Trump investigation, dating back to 2017.
“We’re looking at it,” Mr. Jordan said of Mr. Bragg’s response. “I think the key was that last night we sent a letter to Pomerantz and Dunne, and we really want to talk to those individuals.”
A spokeswoman for the Oversight Committee referred questions to the Judiciary Committee and a spokeswoman for the House Administration Committee didn’t respond to a request for comment. Mr. Pomerantz declined to comment. Mr. Dunne didn’t respond to a request for comment.
While most evidence and testimony has already been presented to the grand jury, it is possible that Mr. Bragg’s office could call an additional witness to rebut testimony given to the panel on Monday by Robert Costello, a lawyer who appeared at the request of Mr. Trump’s legal team.
Mr. Costello said he told the grand jury that former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who made a $130,000 payment to Ms. Daniels, was an unreliable witness who has told conflicting stories about the hush-money agreement.
Any potential indictment of Mr. Trump wouldn’t be public until it is unsealed by a judge.
