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What changed? Manhattan DA’s grand jury on Trump Org probe set to end this week

April 28, 2022 | | Print Article

After six months, the special grand jury empaneled to hear evidence in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation into the Trump Organization’s finances will expire at the end of this week and will reportedly not be extended, sources tell CNN.

Convened in October by former Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr., the special grand jury has heard from a “Trump accountant,” a couple of Deutsch Bank employees and two journalists from Forbes late last year, but presentations were halted earlier this year after Bragg was sworn in and expressed doubts about the strength of the investigation’s evidence, American Wire News reported at the time. Bragg’s apparent disinterest in moving forward with a case against former President Donald Trump led to the resignation of two key prosecutors, Mark Pomerantz and Carey Dunne.

“The decision to not extend the jury’s term is not surprising because prosecutors already had pulled back from presenting evidence, but the development does indicate that over the past few months, the investigation has not escalated to the point that Bragg’s calculus has changed,” CNN reports.

Following the departure of his senior prosecutors, Bragg told CNN there was no “magic” to the special grand jury’s six-month timetable, adding that evidence could be presented to a future grand jury should the investigation warrant it.

“There’s no magic in any previously reported schedule,” Bragg said earlier this month. “This investigation is going to be dictated by the facts we unearth.”

“We’ve got a strong team of dedicated career prosecutors working day in and day out and following up on new evidence and going where the facts take us,” Bragg said, adding that it “would not be appropriate” to comment about the grand jury’s term.

Wednesday, a spokesperson for Bragg’s office referred back to those comments and declined to add anything new to the statements.

Unlike in federal courts, prosecutors in New York state may not rely on summaries of witness testimony provided by detectives or agents, but must present actual witnesses to the grand jury.

“Prosecutors generally stop presenting evidence to a grand jury if they’re not intending to immediately seek an indictment because it is time-consuming and could expose a future case to scrutiny,” CNN notes. “Witnesses who appear before multiple grand juries are at risk of giving inconsistent statements, and prosecutors can be accused of jury shopping.”

In his resignation letter, Pomerantz told Bragg, “I and others believe that your decision not to authorize prosecution now will doom any future prospects that Mr. Trump will be prosecuted for the criminal conduct we have been investigating.”

With news that the special grand jury’s term will not be extended, many anti-Trumpers on social media are, not surprisingly,  calling for the end of Bragg’s career.

“I do not trust this District Attorney at all especially after the two prosecutors resigned,” wrote one user on Twitter. “I think the fix is in.”

“If the Special Grand Jury’s term is allowed to expire on Friday, Alvin Bragg’s position as Manhattan District Attorney will certainly expire at the end of his first and only term,” tweeted another.

“Does the NY Gov have the authority [to] recall a city DA? Or must that happen through the City gov process?” another user asked.

“This is on @ManhattanDA and if nothing happens @GovKathyHochul does not recall him she will be held accountable at the polls!” declared yet another unhappy user.

But not everyone is sorry to see the grand jury dismissed.

“How many times are you going to believe the democrat party,” another user asked. “Everything and I mean everything they have been saying against Trump has fallen apart. When does it come to the point in time that u wake up?”

Melissa Fine
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