Manhattan prosecutors to begin presenting Trump case to grand jury

The Manhattan district attorney’s office has decided to begin presenting evidence to a grand jury Monday regarding Donald Trump’s alleged role in getting hush money payments to an adult film star during his 2016 presidential campaign, people familiar with the matter told The New York Times.

The development brings prosecutors one step closer to possibly filing criminal charges against Trump, marking a major escalation in the longest-running criminal investigation into the former president regarding his alleged affair with the porn star Stormy Daniels.

The district attorney’s office declined to comment on the report.

The saga began in 2018 when The Wall Street Journal published a bombshell report alleging that Michael Cohen, then a longtime attorney for Trump, paid Daniels $130,000 one month before the 2016 election to silence her from speaking out about the alleged affair.

Cohen later admitted to making the payments in violation of campaign finance laws, and was sentenced to three years in federal prison. Trump, however, has denied that he directed Cohen to pay off Daniels, and said the payments did not come from his campaign.