According to two persons familiar with the issue, the Manhattan district attorney has directed that the grand jury investigating potential charges against former President Donald Trump remain at home on Wednesday rather than reconvening as scheduled.
On Thursday, District Attorney Alvin Bragg plans to reassemble the grand jury to start their work. The cause of this delay is unresolved including the potential that another possible witness must be heard.
The grand jury heard from Trump friend Robert Costello on Monday, who sought to discredit the prosecution’s key witness, former fixer and personal attorney Michael Cohen.
The grand jury was poised on Friday to give an indictment decision as soon as this week, according to multiple sources. They planned to meet again on Wednesday.
Later in the day, Bragg’s office declined to comment, citing the inability to discuss grand jury issues. The proceedings have been kept secret. Prosecutors were upset with Cohen’s appearance on Ari Melber’s MSNBC show, according to NBC News, and contacted Cohen’s attorney to urge him against future televised appearances.
The latest developments come just five days after Trump told the world he expected to be arrested and urged his supporters to “PROTEST, PROTEST, PROTEST” in New York City, where throngs of uniformed NYPD, Secret Service, and other officers secured the Manhattan Criminal Court’s perimeter in anticipation of a possible grand jury indictment.
Protests have been few and mainly peaceful thus far. Earlier this week, a few members of the New York Young Republican’s Club gathered in front of the Manhattan Criminal Court wearing MAGA caps, while Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan has seen a few spontaneous protests.
If the grand jury votes to charge Trump, it will be the first time in US history that a sitting or former president has been charged. However, with the Jan. 6 revolt still looming large, the NYPD and its law enforcement partners at all levels of government are preparing accordingly.
Trump has indicated that he is expecting an indictment in Florida, not Washington, DC. According to News2, the indictment would be issued by the Manhattan district attorney’s office in New York.
The pictures were created by Eliot Higgins, the creator of the intelligence and investigatory company Bellingcat, using an artificial intelligence approach. Higgins first shared the photos on Twitter on March 20.
Higgins wrote: “Creating images of Trump’s arrest while waiting for Trump’s arrest.”
He gave various of Trump’s arrests in a thread. He also tweeted photos of Donald Trump Jr. and Melania Trump shouting at police officers made by artificial intelligence. Higgins noted in the Twitter thread that the photos were created using Midjourney, a free artificial intelligence technology that allows users to create realistic graphics.