Trump news – live: Manhattan DA says Trump sparked ‘false’ indictment expectation as grand jury skips hearing

The Manhattan DA has said that former President Donald Trump sparked a “false” indictment expectation as the grand jury skipped its hearing on the matter on Thursday.

In a letter responding to the Republican chairs of the House Judiciary, Oversight, and Administration committees, the general counsel for the Manhattan District Attorney’s office said that their demand for documents “only came after Donald Trump created a false expectation that he would be arrested the next day and his lawyers reportedly urged you to intervene. Neither fact is a legitimate basis for congressional inquiry”.

General counsel Leslie Dubeck called the letter sent by the chairmen on 20 March “an unprecedent inquiry into a pending local prosecution”.

New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg called off the grand jury on 22 March, and the jury will not hear the highly scrutinised case on 23 March, pushing any potential indictments until next week at the earliest.

There are a number of reasons why a grand jury hearing for a specific case would be delayed, cancelled or rescheduled, including scheduling conflicts, illness and other court matters, as well as other cases that the grand juries are considering.

Key Points

• Trump’s chilling warning of what will happen after his indictment

• Trump falsely claims 2018 letter that didn’t prevent charges against Michael Cohen is ‘exculpatory’

• Resurfaced video shows Giuliani blowing apart Trump's new 'evidence' in Stormy Daniels case

• How Donald Trump is fundraising over his own ‘arrest’ prediction

• The ‘fixer’: How Michael Cohen’s efforts to help Donald Trump could land his ex-boss in jail

Trump posts picture of him holding baseball bat next to Alvin Bragg’s head

00:41 , Graeme Massie

‘Deepfake’ images of Trump’s arrest preview potential for harm and mass disruption in elections and media

00:00 , Alex Woodward

In imaginary images created by an artificial intelligence programme with a researcher’s prompts, police officers chase and tackle Donald Trump. Others show the former president behind bars and wearing an orange jumpsuit in federal prison.

The images, generated by Bellingcat founder Eliot Higgins using the powerful text-to-image Midjourney programme, exploded across social media while a New York grand jury considers evidence in a criminal investigation into the former president, who has predicted his imminent indictment and arrest.

They served as a high-profile example of the kinds of viral phenomena relying on false images built with artificial intelligence programmes that could be used to spread harmful disinformation to spark unrest and disrupt news cycles and elections.

Democratic US Senator Mark Warner told The Washington Post that lawmakers have issued similar warnings about the potential for synthetic media to “spread disinformation and more generally to sow confusion and discord.”

Mr Warner, the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said that the technology is now at a point where “these tools are widely available and incredibly capable.”

Read more:

‘Deepfake’ images of Trump’s arrest preview potential harm to elections and media

Ron DeSantis doesn’t recall eating pudding with three fingers on private flight

23:00 , Gustaf Kilander

In a bizarre episode for the Florida governor, as he prepares to announce his expected 2024 campaign for the White House, Ron DeSantis has chosen not to outright deny that he ate chocolate pudding with three fingers on a private flight in 2019.

The incident was reported by The Daily Beast, which noted that Mr DeSantis sometimes struggles to “read the room”.

“I don’t remember ever doing that,” the governor told Piers Morgan in an interview on Fox Nation.

“Maybe when I was a kid, but it’s interesting there’s a lot of people who when they go at you, sometimes they have really good ammunition like, ‘You’re a crook, you did this, you did that,’” he added. “For me, they’re talking about pudding, and I’m like, ‘Is that really the best you’ve got? OK, bring it on!’”

Read more:

Ron DeSantis doesn’t recall eating pudding with three fingers on private flight

Tucker Carlson attempts to walk back comments about hating Trump ‘passionately’

22:15 , Gustaf Kilander

Fox News host Tucker Carlson attempted to walk about his comments about hating former president Donald Trump during an interview with WABC’s Bo Snerdley.

Mr Carlson’s private text messages blasting Mr Trump were revealed as part of the defamation lawsuit against Fox News brought by Dominion Voting Systems.

“I spent four years defending his policies and I’m going to defend them again tonight. And actually, and I’m pretty straightforward – I love Trump. Like, as a person, I think Trump is funny and insightful. And I said this to Trump when he called me, you know, all wounded about those texts. That was a moment in time where I was absolutely infuriated,” he said, according to a transcript put out by Media Matters.

“And I think this is in the text, and those were all grabbed completely illegitimately, in my opinion, in this court case, which I guess I’m not allowed to talk about, but I’m enraged that my private texts were pulled,” he added.

“But those particular texts were pulled at exactly the moment [when] I was texting with one of my producers because some idiot on the Trump campaign had sent us the name of these dead voters who had voted. And we went and I repeated them on air, and it turns out some of them were alive,” he said.

“I felt humiliated. Yeah. Like what? And I thought then and I think now that that election was not on the level, it was not a free and fair election. I thought that then. I think it now,” he claimed. “... I wanted evidence. I mean, there’s no way the guy got 81... he got more votes than Barack Obama. Really?”

“Whatever you think of Obama, I never liked Obama, but he’s a really talented, very talented politician. And Joe Biden is senile and hid in his basement. Tell me how he got 81 million votes,” he added.

“So, I’ve always thought that was not on the level. And so I said to the Trump people, you know, ‘You’re saying the election was rigged. Send me some examples of it and I’ll put it on the air,’” Mr Carlson said.

VIDEO: Indictment vote on former President Trump delayed

21:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Trump interview seeming to undermine his Stormy Daniels defence re-emerges

20:45 , Gustaf Kilander

An interview with then-President Donald Trump recorded in 2018 appears to undermine his defence in the Stormy Daniels hush money case.

“They weren’t taken out of campaign finance – that’s a big thing,” Mr Trump said at the time of the money paid to the porn actor for her to remain silent about an affair she claims they had in 2006.

The $130,000 payment was made by then-Trump fixer Michael Cohen in the final days of the 2016 campaign. Cohen later spent time behind bars as a result of the payment.

“They didn’t come out of the campaign, they came from me,” Mr Trump said in 2018 during the interview at the White House.

Cohen was reimbursed for the funds, which was logged as a legal fee in the Trump business records.

The Manhattan District Attorney is now investigating if Mr Trump falsified business records.

Lawyer Ron Filipkowski shared the clip on Twitter.

“Seems like Trump’s story has changed since 2018 when he was asked about the payments in the Stormy case,” he said.

“At the time of this interview, he was only worried about federal campaign finance violations. He thought he was in the clear with state law. So back then he emphasized he reimbursed with his money, not campaign money. Problem is that doesn’t work now,” he added.

The watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington wrote: “Well, here’s Donald Trump saying he used his personal money for the Stormy Daniels payment, which kept it off his campaign finance reports. He may regret this interview now.”

Resurfaced video shows Giuliani blowing apart Trump’s new ‘evidence’ in Stormy Daniels case

20:15 , Gustaf Kilander

A resurfaced Fox News clip shows former New York City Mayor and Trump personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani blowing apart the former president’s supposed new evidence in the Stormy Daniels hush money case.

Mr Giuliani complicated Donald Trump’s defence in May 2018 when he appeared on Fox News admitting that Mr Trump was aware of the payments to women who claimed that they had had affairs with him.

He said at the time that Mr Trump “did know the general arrangement” and that his attorney and fixer Michael Cohen was reimbursed for paying off Stormy Daniels with funds being “funnelled” through a law firm.

Mr Cohen is now one of his former boss’s staunchest critics.

Mr Trump rejected this notion at the time, saying that Mr Giuliani “started yesterday. He’ll get his facts straight”.

Lawyer Ron Filipkowski shared the clip of Mr Giuliani from 2018 on Thursday.

Read more:

Resurfaced video shows Giuliani blowing apart Trump’s new ‘evidence’ in Stormy case

The New York grand jury in Trump’s hush money case has been delayed. Here’s why that might have happened

19:45 , Alex Woodward

Donald Trump stirred a media frenzy with a false expectation of his imminent arrest and the charges against him while a grand jury in New York City continued to hear witnesses and evidence in a case involving the former president’s hush money payment to an adult film star.

The Manhattan grand jury has been meeting since January, but Mr Trump’s announcement on 18 March has put its actions under a microscope in anticipation of an indictment.

New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg called off the grand jury on 22 March, and the jury will not hear the highly scrutinised case on 23 March, pushing any potential indictments until next week at the earliest.

There are a number of reasons why a grand jury hearing for a specific case would be delayed, canceled or rescheduled, including scheduling conflicts, illness and other court matters, as well as other cases that the grand juries are considering.

That’s not uncommon. Grand juries can typically hear multiple cases at a time. Prosecutors in New York are reviewing hundreds of cases. So the grand jury in Mr Trump’s case is likely not the only one on its agenda.

Read more:

Why New York’s grand jury in Trump’s hush money case might have been delayed

Manhattan DA blasts House GOP for ‘unprecedent inquiry into a pending local prosecution’

19:15 , Gustaf Kilander

In a letter responding to the Republican chairs of the House Judiciary, Oversight, and Administration committees, the general counsel for the Manhattan District Attorney’s office says that “if charges are brought at the conclusion” of the investigation into former President Donald Trump, “it will be because the rule of law and faithful execution of the District Attorney’s duty require it”.

Manhattan District Attorney’s office general counsel Leslie Dubeck called the letter sent by the chairmen on 20 March “an unprecedent inquiry into a pending local prosecution”.

“The Letter only came after Donald Trump created a false expectation that he would be arrested the next day and his lawyers reportedly urged you to intervene. Neither fact is a legitimate basis for congressional inquiry,” she added.

The chairmen wrote in their letter that the DA’s investigation into Mr Trump was an “unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority,” demanding documents and an interview with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat.

The grand jury case concerns hush money payments made to women who have made allegations that they have had affairs with Mr Trump.

Read more:

Manhattan DA blasts House GOP for ‘unprecedent inquiry into local prosecution’

Who is Alvin Bragg? The Manhattan district attorney who could criminally prosecute Donald Trump

18:45 , Alex Woodward

Former president Donald Trump fired out three furious all-caps posts on his Truth Social page on 18 March, invoking images of burning cities and World War III while stoking unrest with a call for his supporters to “protest, protest, protest” what he predicted would be his arrest in New York.

Alvin Bragg – the Manhattan district attorney whose office is overseeing a criminal investigation into the former president’s business practices following long-running allegations of fraud – issued a memo to his staff in response, stressing that he does “not tolerate attempts to intimidate our office or threaten the rule of law in New York.”

His internal message did not mention the former president by name or his incendiary rhetoric, but he referred to “public comments surrounding an ongoing investigation by this office.”

Mr Bragg has been tight-lipped about the case and his office’s work, ensuring in his recent memo that, “as with all of our investigations, we will continue to apply the law evenly and fairly, and speak publicly only when appropriate.”

Read more:

Who is Alvin Bragg? The district attorney who could criminally prosecute Donald Trump

Could Ron DeSantis stop Trump’s arrest?

18:15 , Eric Garcia

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis finds himself in a bind: as of right now, he is by far the person with the best possible chance of beating former president Donald Trump for the Republican nomination for president.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, he earned plaudits when he rapidly reopened the state after a brief stint of closures. He has ardently opposed mask and vaccine mandates. His opposition to LGBTQ+ rights and how some education curricula teach about the history of slavery and Black America have further endeared him to conservatives. After barely winning his first race for governor in 2018, he cruised to re-election in 2022 by almost 20 points.

Meanwhile, the former president has also intimated that he could be indicted by the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg any day now for his payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to keep their affair a secret. That would normally mean that Mr DeSantis would be the heir to the former president’s base in the race to challenge President Joe Biden.

Read more:

Could Ron DeSantis stop Trump’s arrest?

Trump’s chilling warning of what will happen after his indictment

17:45 , Alex Woodward

Former president Donald Trump has roundly rejected any investigations involving him, his campaign or business empire as a hoax, a fraud or a politically motivated hit job against him or his agenda.

In January, his company was fined $1.6m after two of its entities were convicted of 17 felonies, marking the first time that the former president and his empire – bolstered by a “culture of fraud and deception,” according to prosecutors – faced criminal consequences after he spent decades trying to avoid them.

Now at the centre of separate investigations from the US Department of Justice and from prosecutors in his hometown of New York and in Georgia, a state he lost to Joe Biden but where he pressed election officials to overturn the results, the leading 2024 Republican candidate for president has suggested that his supporters could respond to his election loss or potentially imminent indictments with violence.

Read more:

Trump’s chilling warning of what will happen after his indictment

Trump falsely claims 2018 letter that didn’t prevent charges against Michael Cohen is ‘exculpatory’

17:15 , Andrew Feinberg

Former President Donald Trump is now claiming a 2018 letter from Michael Cohen’s attorney that failed to prevent him from being charged over illegal campaign contributions to Mr Trump’s 2016 campaign has exonerated him from charges over the same illegal contributions now being considered by the Manhattan district attorney’s office.

In a post on his Truth Social website, Mr Trump published a February 2018 letter from Cohen’s then-attorney to the Federal Election Commission in which the lawyer said Cohen’s use of a $130,000 Home Equity Line of Credit to pay adult film star Stormy Daniels not to talk about a 2006 affair she had with Mr Trump was a “private transaction” made with Cohen’s “own money”.

“Neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction with Ms. Clifford, and neither reimbursed Mr. Cohen for the payment directly or indirectly,” said the attorney, Stephen Ryan, who represented Cohen at the time, in the letter to the FEC.

Read more:

Trump falsely claims letter from Cohen lawyer is ‘exculpatory’ in hush money case

Resurfaced video shows Giuliani blowing apart Trump's new 'evidence' in Stormy Daniels case

16:47 , John Bowden and Gustaf Kilander

In May 2018, Rudy Giuliani screwed things up.

Joining the president’s legal team, the former New York City mayor would go on to have a years-long legal relationship with Mr Trump that resulted in the ageing politician causing far more harm than good.

Years before his bumbling in Ukraine would be seen as a cause for the Democrats’ first impeachment proceedings against Mr Trump, Mr Giuliani would throw a hand grenade into the legal defences of both his boss and former colleague, Michael Cohen, by admitting that Mr Trump himself knew of the payments to women claiming to have had affairs with him.

Speaking on Fox News, in a shocking interview with a bemused Sean Hannity, Mr Giuliani specified that not only the president “did know the general arrangement”, but he also added that the president had reimbursed Cohen with money he characterised as “funnelled” through a law firm. Mr Trump denies this, telling reporters, “He started yesterday. He’ll get his facts straight.”

Lawyer Ron Filipkowski shared the clip of Mr Giuliani from 2018 on Thursday.

“I’d like to call, as a surprise witness for the prosecution, 2018 Rudy Giuliani, who BURIES Trump’s defense,” Mr Filipkowski tweeted.

“They funnelled it through a law firm, then the president repaid it,” Mr Giuliani said at the time. “When I heard Cohen’s retainer while he was doing no work, I said, ‘that’s how (Trump’s) repaying it.’”

How Donald Trump is fundraising over his own ‘arrest’ prediction

16:45 , Alex Woodward

Former president Donald Trump fuelled a media firestorm with his all-caps prediction of his own arrest, a claim apparently based on reports of a looming indictment from a criminal investigation in New York. His own team followed up to clarify that he did not receive any indications from prosecutors that he had yet been charged or would be imminently arrested.

But his claim fanned the flames of unrest with incendiary rhetoric and demands that his supporters “protest, protest, protest” a then-unannounced decision, with Mr Trump’s allies rushing to his defence and mounting an offensive on his behalf.

He also has used his announcement and his narrative of political persecution to raise money for his 2024 presidential campaign, relying on similar tactics that his fundraising arms have used after the federal law enforcement search of his Mar-a-Lago property last year and his spurious attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Read more:

How Donald Trump is fundraising over his own ‘arrest’ prediction

The ‘fixer’: How Michael Cohen’s efforts to help Donald Trump could land his ex-boss in jail

16:15 , John Bowden

Former attorney Michael Cohen was once Donald Trump’s top operative: a “fixer” who handled matters both legal and otherwise for the celebrity businessman-turned-political candidate.

But as Alvin Bragg’s grand jury investigation concludes in Manhattan this week, it’s clear that Cohen’s efforts to “fix” problems for his boss may have caused far more harm than good.

In the autumn of 2016, Cohen was still serving as an attorney and longtime colleague of the presidential hopeful he would later go on to call a racist, a con man and a fraud in sworn testimony to Congress. As part of that job, he connected with a woman named Stephanie Clifford — aka porn star Stormy Daniels — and started making a deal.

The terms of that deal were simple: Daniels would cease her efforts to shop a story of her alleged affair with Trump to journalists around the country, thereby removing a last-minute landmine for the Trump campaign already battered with the damning audio of his Access Hollywood comments about sexually harassing women, reported just weeks earlier. She’d stop talking about it to anyone, in fact, and would sign a nondisclosure agreement opening her up to arbitration if she did otherwise. In exchange? A one-time payment of $130,000.

Read more:

How Michael Cohen’s efforts to help Donald Trump could land his ex-boss in prison

Has Trump been arrested? The former president’s moving indictment timeline

15:45 , Josh Marcus

Workers began erecting barricades around the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse this week, bracing for a potential, unprecedented moment: Donald Trump arriving to face charges in a hush money probe, making him the first president in US history to face criminal charges.

Mr Trump announced over the weekend that he expected to be arrested this week, and called on his supporters to protest what he called the “corrupt and highly political Manhattan district attorney’s office.”

“PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!” Mr Trump blared on social media.

However, Team Trump soon began to rein in the former president. The probe into hush money payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign crawled on with additional witnesses through Monday and the grand jury didn’t meet on Tuesday.

A Trump spokesperson clarified the former president’s team has been given “no notification” of an impending arrest beside “illegal leaks”.

Read more:

Has Trump been arrested? The moving indictment timeline

Ron DeSantis admits he can’t spell ‘sanctimonious’ insult Trump gave him

15:15 , Eric Garcia

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said the he cannot spell “sanctimonious” as former president Donald Trump has taken to calling his potential opponent “Ron DeSanctimonious.”

Mr DeSantis is largely expected to announce his challenge to the former president for the 2024 Republican nomination. That has led Mr Trump to lash out against the Florida Governor, whom he had previously endorsed in 2018.

In turn, Mr Trump has given Mr DeSantis the moniker of “Ron DeSanctimonious.” But in an interview with Piers Morgan, Mr DeSantis brushed off the epithet.

“I don’t know how to spell the sanctimonious one,” he said. “I don’t really know what it means, but I kinda like it, it’s long, it’s got a lot of vowels.”

Read more:

Ron DeSantis admits he can’t spell ‘sanctimonious’ insult Trump gave him

Manhattan DA says GOP ‘letter treads into territory very clearly reserved to the states'

14:54 , Gustaf Kilander

The general counsel for the Manhattan DA, Leslie Dubeck, writes in her letter to three Republican House committee chairmen that “your letter treads into territory very clearly reserved to the states. It suggests that Congress’s investigation is being ‘conducted solely for the personal aggrandizement of the investigators or to ‘punish’ those investigated,’ and is, therefore, ‘indefensible’.”

Ms Lubeck added that “the District Attorney is obliged by the federal and state constitutions to protect the independence of state law enforcement functions from federal interference”.

“The DA’s Office therefore requests an opportunity to meet and confer with committee staff to better understand what information the DA’s Office can provide that relates to a legitimate legislative interest and can be shared consistent with the District Attorney’s constitutional obligations,” she said.

Stormy Daniels says her phone records are ‘gonna hurt’ Trump in hush money probe

14:45 , Gustaf Kilander

Stormy Daniels has said that her phone records are “gonna hurt” former President Donald Trump in the hush money probe into the 2016 payment to the porn actor conducted by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

Ms Daniels said she provided her lawyer with the records on Wednesday. She’s in the middle of the possible indictment of Mr Trump, which would be the first occurrence of a US president being charged with a crime.

It is alleged that former Trump fixer Michael Cohen paid off Ms Daniels to remain silent during the 2016 campaign for the White House regarding an affair she claims took place a decade previously. Mr Trump has denied the allegation.

Mr Cohen spent time in prison and in home confinement on a campaign finance violation in relation to the payment. It’s been reported that Mr Trump may be in legal jeopardy on the basis of falsifying business records as the reimbursement to Mr Cohen was logged as a legal expense.

A Twitter user asked Ms Daniels on Wednesday: “Are you still laughing @StormyDaniels You seem to have stopped tweeting obsessively about Trump but I’m sure you’re having the last laugh.”

Read more:

Stormy Daniels says her phone records are ‘gonna hurt’ Trump in hush money probe

Manhattan DA calls GOP letter ‘an unprecedent inquiry into a pending local prosecution'

14:39 , Gustaf Kilander

In a letter responding to the Republican chairs of the House Judiciary, Oversight, and House Administration committees, the general counsel for the Manhattan DA, Leslie Dubeck, says that “if charges are brought at the conclusion,” of the DA’s investigation, “it will be because the rule of law and faithful execution of the District Attorney’s duty require it”.

“Your letter dated March 20, 2023 (the ‘Letter’), in contrast, is an unprecedent inquiry into a pending local prosecution. The Letter only came after Donald Trump created a false expectation that he would be arrested the next day and his lawyers reportedly urged you to intervene. Neither fact is a legitimate basis for congressional inquiry,” she added.

Scarborough slams Trump indictment claim as ‘fundraising grift'

14:15 , Gustaf Kilander

MSNBC host Joe Scarborough has slammed Mr Trump for his claims regarding when he would face an indictment as a fundraising grift.

Mr Trump claimed on Truth Social over the weekend that he would be indicted on Tuesday. Since then, he’s managed to get $1.5m for his campaign.

“What do you make of this grifting thing, where Donald Trump, he knew he wasn’t going to be charged Tuesday, but he went ahead and did it as a fundraising grift,” Mr Scarborough said on MSNBC on Thursday. “He’s raised, well, $1.5m lying about his pending [indictment]. So why does he want to be handcuffed? He wants to be handcuffed because that means more money.”

“I keep talking about the Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker approach to American politics, I keep forgetting that this guy has built about five PTL Lands, and yet I’m still surprised by the level of Tammy Faye Bakker in Donald Trump,” he added.

Tamara Faye Bakker was an evangelist who founded The PTL Club televangelist programme with her husband, Jim Bakker, in 1974. Mr Bakker was later convicted of fraud and sent to prison.

Grand jury not expected to consider Trump hush money payments Thursday, reports say

14:13 , Alex Woodward

A grand jury in New York City investigating Donald Trump’s alleged role in a scheme to pay hush money payments to an adult film star will reportedly not be considering the case when it meets on Thursday.

The grand jury has met on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays to consider evidence involving the former president’s role involving a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels that prosecutors at the New York County district attorney’s office reportedly allege was an illegal campaign expenditure.

The grand jury was told not to appear on Wednesday and it is unlikely that the group will meet at all this week, with Thursday’s delays confirmed by CNN and NBC News.

Developments in the case follow the former president’s prediction of his own arrest on 18 March, demanding that his followers protest what he believed was an imminent indictment while accusing prosecutors of launching a politically motivated investigation.

Read more:

Grand jury not expected to consider Trump hush money payments today, reports say

Grand jury will not hear hush money case on Thursday

14:00 , Gustaf Kilander

The grand jury looking into Mr Trump’s alleged hush money payments won’t be hearing that case when they meet today, according to CNN.

National Correspondent Kristen Holmes tweeted just before 10am on Thursday that “the Manhattan grand jury investigating Trump’s alleged role in a scheme to pay hush money to an adult film star WILL NOT hear that case when it convenes today, two sources familiar with the matter tell @KaraScannell pushing the Manhattan’s district attorney’s probe into next week”.

Far-right support for Trump looks disorganised on social media. Others think it’s a trap

13:45 , Alex Woodward

Former president Donald Trump’s demands that his supporters “protest, protest, protest” his potentially imminent indictment have prompted law enforcement officials to tighten security measures around New York City while monitoring potential threats.

Across far-right social media accounts and message boards reviewed by The Independent, the former president’s prediction of his own arrest was the evidence they needed to support long-running conspiracy theories that Democratic officials and President Joe Biden’s administration have weaponised the federal government against him.

But unlike the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, which was organised openly across social media platforms, discussion of protesting Mr Trump’s potential arrest has largely revolved around denouncing the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation and echoing the former president’s incendiary and dramatic rhetoric about the state of the US.

Read more:

Far-right supporters aren’t organizing Trump protests. Others think it’s a trap

Tucker Carlson begs Biden to stop Trump indictment

13:15 , Rachel Sharp

Fox News‘ Tucker Carlson has called on the Biden administration to stop the potential indictment of Donald Trump, warning that “America will never be the same” if it does not.

Last week, Mr Trump led much of the country to believe the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office would indict him within the week. He initially predicted the arrest would occur on Tuesday, though the day came and went without any such outcome. The grand jury’s meeting on Wednesday was called off, likely delaying any indictment.

Both Carlson and Mr Trump have framed the case against the former president — which alleges he paid hush-money to adult film star Stormy Daniels — as a political witch hunt, and stoke conspiracy theories by referring to prosecutor Alvin Bragg as “[George] Soros-funded.”

Read the full story:

Tucker Carlson begs Biden to stop Trump indictment

Trump lawyer must give evidence in classified documents case

12:45 , Oliver O’Connell

A three-judge panel of the District Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals has denied former President Trump’s request to block one of his attorneys from turning over documents to a grand jury looking into whether he broke the law by retaining classified documents at his Florida residence and whether he obstructed the investigation into his alleged retention of the documents.

Andrew Feinberg has the details.

Trump lawyer must give evidence in classified documents case, appeals court rules

Stormy Daniels says her phone records will ‘hurt’ Trump

12:15 , Rachel Sharp

Stormy Daniels has said that her phone records are “gonna hurt” Donald Trump as the investigation into the 2016 hush money payments draws to a close.

In response to a Twitter user who asked if she was “still laughing” after Mr Trump shared a 2018 letter sent by Michael Cohen, the adult film star revealed that she had handed over phone records to her attorney.

“I’m sure I will. I’ve been handing over phone records to my attorney today (they’re gonna hurt!) and planning spring break activities with my kid. It was a wonderful day,” she tweeted on Wednesday.

Is today the day?

11:45 , Rachel Sharp

Donald Trump could be indicted by a Manhattan grand jury as soon as Thursday, potentially charged with falsifying business records connected to hush money payments during his 2016 campaign to women who accused him of sexual encounters.

A vote on whether to indict the former president is expected within days; the grand jurors cancelled a Wednesday meeting but were told to be on standby for Thursday.

Read on:

Donald Trump could be indicted as early as Thursday over hush money payments

Trump claims 2018 letter exonerates him from hush money indictment

11:15 , Rachel Sharp

Donald Trump is claiming that a 2018 letter exonerates him from any criminal activity over the 2016 hush money payments to Stormy Daniels.

The former president posted a letter on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday night in which Michael Cohen told the Federal Election Commission that neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was involved in the payment to Stormy Daniels.

In the letter, Cohen wrote that he “used his own personal funds to facilitate a payment of $130,000 to Ms. Stephanie Clifford” (Ms Daniels).

“Neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction with Ms. Clifford, and neither reimbursed Mr. Cohen for the payment directly or indirectly,” it read.

Posting the letter on Truth Social, Mr Trump wrote: “This is totally exculpatory, and must end the Manhattan District Attorney’s Witch Hunt, immediately.”

After sending the letter, Cohen later admitted that he had lied to investigators and was convicted over the payments.

He is now the star witness in the Manhattan case.

If Trump is indicted, what does it mean and what would the charges be?

10:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump took to his Truth Social platform to predict that he would soon be arrested over hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the run-up to the 2016 election.

Mr Trump would become the first US president in history to face criminal charges if he is indicted by prosecutors in New York following a yearslong investigation.

The former president made the arrest prediction in a furious all-caps post on his Truth Social platform on Saturday morning.

In it, he called on his supporters to protest any arrest and to “take our nation back.”

While a spokesperson for Mr Trump says they have not been officially notified by prosecutors of any impending charges, it has been reported that meetings have taken place between city, state and federal law enforcement in New York City about his any indictment should be handled.

Graeme Massie reports.

What does indicted mean and what charges could Trump face?

ICYMI: Grand jury’s Wednesday meeting unexpectedly canceled

10:15 , Oliver O'Connell

A grand jury convened for a New York investigation into Donald Trump’s so-called hush money payment to an adult film star during his 2016 presidential campaign may not be meeting at all this week, after the former president predicted his looming indictment and arrest in connection with the case.

Alex Woodward broke the news for The Independent.

Trump indictment delayed as grand jury’s Wednesday meeting unexpectedly canceled

How Michael Cohen’s efforts to help Trump could land his ex-boss in jail

09:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Former attorney Michael Cohen was once Donald Trump’s top operative: a “fixer” who handled matters both legal and otherwise for the celebrity businessman-turned-political candidate.

But as Alvin Bragg’s grand jury investigation concludes in Manhattan this week, it’s clear that Cohen’s efforts to “fix” problems for his boss may have caused far more harm than good.

John Bowden reports.

The ‘fixer’: Michael Cohen’s plan to aid Donald Trump could land his ex-boss in jail

How did a porn star become one of the most powerful people in politics?

08:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Io Dodds explains how Stormy Daniels landed in the middle of a political firestorm.

How porn star Stormy Daniels became one of the most powerful people in politics

Grand jury to reconvene today

08:39 , Rachel Sharp

The Manhattan grand jury investigating Donald Trump’s role in hush money payments to Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election is expected to reconvene today – meaning the former president could be criminally indicted at the earliest by the close of the day.

Two sources told NBC News that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg plans to convene the grand jury again on Thursday – after the session was suddenly called off Wednesday.

The DA’s office is believed to have told at least one witness they may need to return to provide more testimony in the probe.

Prosecutors are also still trying to decide whether to bring Mr Trump’s former lawyer and “fixer” Michael Cohen back to testify to counter testimony given by Mr Trump’s ally Robert Costello on Monday, reported CNN.

08:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Ron DeSantis brushes off Donald Trump insults during interview with Piers Morgan

Inside the Stormy Daniels hush money payment

07:15 , Oliver O'Connell

John Bowden takes a look at the saga that may lead to criminal charges against Donald Trump.

Inside the Stormy Daniels hush money payment that could lead to first Trump charges

Could Ron DeSantis stop Trump’s arrest?

06:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Could Ron DeSantis stop Trump’s arrest?

Can Trump still be elected president if he’s arrested and indicted?

05:15 , Oliver O'Connell

John Bowden looks at the big question everyone is asking.

Can Donald Trump still be elected president if he’s arrested and indicted?

Voices: As a Trump indictment looms, Fox News mounts a full-throated defence of the former president

04:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Richard Hall writes:

Donald Trump may soon have a chance to defend himself in a court of law against the allegations that he used campaign funds to pay hush money to a porn star. In the meantime, the most-watched cable news network in the country appears to have taken up the case pro-bono.

As other news channels trained their cameras on the Manhattan court where Mr Trump was expected to be arraigned, Fox News spent much of the past few days attacking the prosecutor who brought the case against him and playing down the allegations.

As a Trump indictment looms, Fox News mounts a full-throated defence

Trump lashes out at ‘hellhole’ Manhattan after supporters fail to turn up to protest

03:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump has lashed out at the “hellhole” of Manhattan after his supporters failed to turn up to protest his impending indictment in his native city.

Rachel Sharp has the story.

Trump lashes out at ‘hellhole’ Manhattan after protesters fail to show in city

Trump reportedly raised $1.5m since he announced his ‘arrest’ on Saturday

03:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump’s robust fundraising campaign has reportedly collected more than $1.5m since he announced his impending “arrest” on 18 March.

Alex Woodward reports.

Donald Trump reportedly raised $1.5m since he announced his ‘arrest’

Trump relishes idea of a perp walk

02:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Former president Donald Trump is reportedly relishing the idea of a perp walk as he prepares for a potential indictment.

The former president has reportedly told friends and associates at Mar-a-Lago that he welcomes the idea of doing a perp walk in front of supporters and photographers if Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg does indeed indict him, according to The New York Times.

Eric Garcia reports.

Trump relishes idea of a perp walk as ex-president prepares for indictment

Stormy Daniels says she will ‘dance down the street’ when ‘tiny’ Trump is indicted

01:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The adult film star at the centre of Donald Trump’s looming criminal indictment has said she will “dance down the street” when “tiny” Donald Trump is indicted over hush money payments to silence her about an alleged affair.

Stormy Daniels took to Twitter on Tuesday to share a series of posts mocking the former president over his potentially looming – and historic – criminal indictment in Manhattan.

Joe Sommerlad reports.

Stormy Daniels says she will ‘dance down the street’ when ‘tiny’ Trump is indicted

GOP presidential hopefuls holding off on campaigns

00:45 , Oliver O'Connell

They are meeting with campaign donors and giving frequent interviews on cable news. They’re delivering speeches in early voting states like Iowa and New Hampshire and hobnobbing with local Republican groups. Some are even quietly discussing campaign jobs with political operatives.

But don’t call them presidential candidates — at least, not yet.

From Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to former Vice President Mike Pence and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, there appears to be little rush to join the field of official presidential candidates. The reluctance reflects the unsettled nature of U.S. politics as Republicans game out whether Donald Trump will maintain his grip on the party, particularly if a criminal indictment is leveled against the former president in New York as early as this week.

Presidential waiting game: GOP hopefuls hold off campaigns

All the investigations Trump is facing

00:00 , Oliver O'Connell

New York prosecutors are not the only ones pursuing investigations against the former president.

Jan 6, Mar-a-Lago and a golf course: The investigations Donald Trump is facing

Fox News and Dominion argue over legal standards to prove defamation

Wednesday 22 March 2023 23:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Lawyers for Fox News and a voting machine company tangled Wednesday over the high bar to prove defamation in a $1.6 billion lawsuit that has embarrassed the conservative network over its airing of false claims related to the 2020 presidential election.

The argument is at the heart of each side’s attempt to persuade a Delaware judge that he should grant summary judgment in its favor and avoid a jury trial scheduled to start next month that would focus in part on media protections afforded in a nearly six-decade-old libel standard.

Read on:

Fox, Dominion argue over legal standards to prove defamation

Trump called for protesters. They turned up and demanded his arrest

Wednesday 22 March 2023 23:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Former President Donald Trump called on supporters to descend on the Manhattan Criminal Court on Tuesday to protest – as he is on the brink of being indicted for his role in paying off adult movie star Stormy Daniels.

Some of those supporters did show up. But they were outnumbered by demonstrators who support the indictment of the former president, a Manhattan native who achieved just over 12 per cent of the vote in his former home borough in the 2020 election.

Abe Asher has the story.

Trump called for protesters. They turned up and demanded his arrest

Watch: Court rules Trump attorney must testify in classified documents case

Wednesday 22 March 2023 22:30 , Oliver O'Connell

A New York neighbourhood finds itself in the spotlight

Wednesday 22 March 2023 22:00 , Oliver O'Connell

As the world waits to see whether a grand jury in lower Manhattan indicts former President Donald Trump, neighborhood resident Barbara Malmet decided to give up her front-row seat.

While police erected barricades around the courthouse where any criminal case would be brought, the retired New York University professor packed a bag and prepared to leave town.

Malmet, 70, lives a few blocks from the city’s civic center and said she is concerned about “a smaller repeat of Jan. 6” if Trump incites “his cult followers into violence.” She wants ”a little more peace of mind not being within walking distance of the courthouse.”

Read on:

NYC neighborhood carries on during wait for Trump grand jury

Full Story: Appeals court upholds forcing Trump lawyer to give evidence in classified documents case

Wednesday 22 March 2023 21:30 , Oliver O'Connell

A three-judge panel of the District Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals has denied former President Trump’s request to block one of his attorneys from turning over documents to a grand jury looking into whether he broke the law by retaining classified documents at his Florida residence and whether he obstructed the investigation into his alleged retention of the documents.

Andrew Feinberg has the details.

Appeals court upholds forcing Trump lawyer to give evidence in classified docs case

Voices: Washington’s cowardice on Trump is about to come crashing down

Wednesday 22 March 2023 21:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Eric Garcia writes:

Washington is fixated this week not on the US Capitol, or President Biden farther down on Pennsylvania Avenue, but on the island of Manhattan, where a grand jury appears poised to indict former President Donald Trump over a hush money payment to a porn star.

Trump himself ignited the latest firestorm when he sent out a furious message over the weekend predicting his imminent arrest in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation into the former president.

It is somewhat fitting that Bragg – who came into office last year and immediately faced criticism assuming that he would not go after the former president – now has the attention of Washington because, if he does indeed indict Mr Trump, he will have done what few in Washington could muster: actually hold Donald Trump accountable.

Read on...

How Washington’s cowardice on Trump is about to come crashing down

Senator Scott teases 2024 ‘political update’ in mid-April

Wednesday 22 March 2023 21:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina is inching ever closer to a presidential bid in 2024, scheduling his latest swing through early-voting states before returning home afterward to give donors a “political update.”

Sen. Scott poised to give 2024 'political update' to donors

Trump classified documents defence attorney to testify on Friday, reports say

Wednesday 22 March 2023 20:50 , Oliver O'Connell

CNN’s Kaitlan Collins reports that Donald Trump’s defence attorney Evan Corcoran is scheduled to testify on Friday before the grand jury relating to the classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago unless the Trump team launches another appeal.

She adds that she has been told they are unlikely to do so.

Collins’ reporting is confirmed by Robert Costa at CBS.

Judge who would hear case against Trump is pretty familiar with the former president and his business

Wednesday 22 March 2023 20:45 , Oliver O'Connell

If a Manhattan grand jury indicts former president Donald Trump for allegedly falsifying business records, the judge set to hear the case will already be plenty familiar with the ex-president’s eponymous real estate, hotel and brand licensing operation.

Andrew Feinberg explains.

Judge who would hear case against Trump presided over Trump Organization trial

Piers Morgan attacked by Trump over DeSantis interview

Wednesday 22 March 2023 20:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump has branded Piers Morgan a “ratings-challenged TV host” ahead of his interview with Ron DeSantis.

The former Good Morning Britain host sat down with politician DeSantis, who will likely be Trump’s rival for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, on his TalkTV and Fox Nation show Piers Morgan Uncensored.

Isobel Lewis reports.

Piers Morgan attacked by Donald Trump over Ron DeSantis interview

DeSantis earns a ‘dismissive’ new nickname thanks to a Trump email typo

Wednesday 22 March 2023 20:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Former President Donald Trump sent out a press release referring to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, his top 2024 rival, as “Rob”.

Poor Rob.

Ron DeSantis earns a ‘dismissive’ new nickname thanks to a Trump email typo

How Michael Cohen’s efforts to help Trump could land his ex-boss in jail

Wednesday 22 March 2023 20:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Former attorney Michael Cohen was once Donald Trump’s top operative: a “fixer” who handled matters both legal and otherwise for the celebrity businessman-turned-political candidate.

But as Alvin Bragg’s grand jury investigation concludes in Manhattan this week, it’s clear that Cohen’s efforts to “fix” problems for his boss may have caused far more harm than good.

John Bowden reports.

The ‘fixer’: Michael Cohen’s plan to aid Donald Trump could land his ex-boss in jail

Judge who would hear case against Trump presided over Weisselberg real estate trial

Wednesday 22 March 2023 19:40 , Oliver O'Connell

If a Manhattan grand jury indicts former president Donald Trump for allegedly falsifying business records, the judge set to hear the case will already be plenty familiar with the ex-president’s eponymous real estate, hotel and brand licensing operation.

Andrew Feinberg reports.

Judge who would hear case against Trump presided over Trump Organization trial

Judge rejects Trump team appeal to stop handover of Evan Corcoran notes on Mar-a-Lago papers

Wednesday 22 March 2023 19:37 , Oliver O'Connell

An appeals court has denied an effort by the Trump legal team to block Judge Beryl Howell’s order to turn over documents to special counsel Jack Smith’s team relating to conversations between Donald Trump and his lawyer Even Corcoran regarding the Mar-a-Lago classified documents.

DeSantis: I would have fired Dr Fauci

Wednesday 22 March 2023 19:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has criticised former President Donald Trump for his pandemic leadership, saying that he would have fired Dr Anthony Fauci, the former chief medical adviser to the president and director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases.

Gustaf Kilander has the story.

DeSantis says he would have fired Dr Fauci in dig at Trump

Trump teases DeSantis: 'Run Ron, Run!’

Wednesday 22 March 2023 19:05 , Oliver O'Connell

With no news likely from the Stormy Daniels hush money grand jury today, Donald Trump is focused on targeting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, his closest rival so far for the Republican nomination in 2024.

“Ron DeSanctimonious is running—without running! He’s doing this to subvert Election Law. Run Ron, Run!” the former president teased, with a nod to the 1994 movie Forrest Gump.

“Others have done it before, though, so I can’t really blame him—But he should take a look at his Polls, which are crashing like few people have seen before. That’s because he’s merely an average REPUBLICAN Governor who has great Public Relations, far better than deserved. When you look at the Florida #’s compared to other States, you will not be impressed—I will release them later in the day!”

Tucker Carlson begs Biden to stop Trump indictment

Wednesday 22 March 2023 18:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Fox News host Tucker Carlson has called on the Biden administration to stop the potential indictment of Donald Trump, warning that “America will never be the same” if it does not.

Last week, Mr Trump led much of the country to believe the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office would indict him within the week. He initially predicted the arrest would occur on Tuesday, though the day came and went without any such outcome. The grand jury’s meeting on Wednesday was called off, likely delaying any indictment.

Graig Graziosi reports.

Tucker Carlson begs Biden to stop Trump indictment

The internet has one burning question from Ron DeSantis’ interview with Piers Morgan

Wednesday 22 March 2023 18:25 , Oliver O'Connell

Following Piers Morgan’s interview with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Twitter users have been left wondering how tall the governor actually is.

Gustaf Kilander has the story.

Ron DeSantis’ interview with Piers Morgan has left people wondering about his height

Voices: As a Trump indictment looms, Fox News mounts a full-throated defence of the former president

Wednesday 22 March 2023 18:01 , Oliver O'Connell

Richard Hall writes:

Donald Trump may soon have a chance to defend himself in a court of law against the allegations that he used campaign funds to pay hush money to a porn star. In the meantime, the most-watched cable news network in the country appears to have taken up the case pro-bono.

As other news channels trained their cameras on the Manhattan court where Mr Trump was expected to be arraigned, Fox News spent much of the past few days attacking the prosecutor who brought the case against him and playing down the allegations.

Read on:

As a Trump indictment looms, Fox News mounts a full-throated defence

Senate Republican demur when asked about possible Trump indictment

Wednesday 22 March 2023 17:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Eric Garcia writes:

Few Republicans have criticised former president Donald Trump more than Senator Mitt Romney. The 2012 Republican nominee for president and current Utah Senator voted to convict Mr Trump in his impeachment trial in 2020 and his impeachment after the January 6 riot in 2021.

But when your dispatcher caught him in the Senate basement on Tuesday evening ahead of votes, he had little to say about the potential indictment of Mr Trump by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

“You know, I’ll have something for you if and when that occurs, but it hasn’t and so I got nothing,” he told The Independent.

Read on:

Senate Republicans don’t want to talk about Trump’s indictment

Manhattan DA will ‘move if and when ready, not a moment before'

Wednesday 22 March 2023 17:24 , Oliver O'Connell

Noah Bookbinder, president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, has given his take on the apparent delay to the decision as to whether to indict former president Donald Trump.

He tweeted: “I’m a little confused by all the speculation about why the Manhattan DA’s indictment is delayed. He never said he would indict today, or at all, so there is no delay. For such a high-profile case, they’ll want to get it right. They’ll move if and when ready, not a moment before.”

Watch: Law & Order was being filmed outside Trump grand jury court

Wednesday 22 March 2023 17:18 , Oliver O'Connell

Trump hits out at DeSantis and ‘ratings challenged TV host from England'

Wednesday 22 March 2023 17:11 , Oliver O'Connell

In response to Piers Morgan’s interview with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former president Donald Trump chose to hit out at both of them on Truth Social.

He posted:

While I am fighting against Radical Left Lunatics, Persecutors, and unfair Prosecutors who want to destroy us all, Ron DeSanctimonious is not working for the people of Florida as he should be, he is too busy chatting with a Ratings Challenged TV Host from England, desperately trying to rescue his failing Campaign—But it’s my fault, I put him there!

A rare moment in which Mr Trump takes the blame for something.

Ahead of possible indictment, Trump relishes idea of a perp walk

Wednesday 22 March 2023 17:05 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump is reportedly relishing the idea of a perp walk as he prepares for a potential indictment.

The former president has reportedly told friends and associates at Mar-a-Lago that he welcomes the idea of doing a perp walk in front of supporters and photographers if Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg does indeed indict him, according to The New York Times.

Eric Garcia has the story.

Trump relishes idea of a perp walk as ex-president prepares for indictment

Donald J Trump is in the witness box

Wednesday 22 March 2023 17:01 , Oliver O'Connell

Meanwhile, a service dog named Donald J Trump is in the witness box at the Proud Boys trial.

There is no confirmation yet as to whether he is a good boy, but I’m sure he will be asked.

Trump reportedly raises more than $1.5m since ‘arrest’ post on Saturday

Wednesday 22 March 2023 16:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump’s robust fundraising campaign has reportedly collected more than $1.5m since he announced his impending “arrest” on 18 March.

His early-morning announcement on Truth Social, which reportedly surprised some advisers at his Mar-a-Lago compound in Florida, fuelled a media frenzy in the days that followed.

As The Independent previously reported, political action committees associated with the former president seized on headlines and responses to his claims with several messages to supporters to contribute to his 2024 presidential campaign.

Alex Woodward has the latest.

Donald Trump reportedly raised $1.5m since he announced his ‘arrest’

Trump lashes out at ‘hellhole’ Manhattan after supporters fail to turn up to protest

Wednesday 22 March 2023 16:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump has lashed out at the “hellhole” of Manhattan after his supporters failed to turn up to protest his impending indictment in his native city.

The former president took to his Truth Social platform on Wednesday morning for his latest rant about Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office investigation into his role in hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election.

Rachel Sharp reports.

Trump lashes out at ‘hellhole’ Manhattan after protesters fail to show in city

Watch: NBC News says grand jury on standby for tomorrow

Wednesday 22 March 2023 16:17 , Oliver O'Connell

UPDATE: Trump indictment delayed as grand jury’s Wednesday meeting unexpectedly canceled

Wednesday 22 March 2023 16:12 , Oliver O'Connell

A grand jury convened for a New York investigation into Donald Trump’s so-called hush money payment to an adult film star during his 2016 presidential campaign may not be meeting at all this week, after the former president predicted his looming indictment and arrest in connection with the case.

Alex Woodward has the latest.

Trump indictment delayed as grand jury’s Wednesday meeting unexpectedly canceled

Wednesday 22 March 2023 16:08 , Oliver O'Connell

Maggie Haberman of The New York Times confirms reporting that the grand jury will not meet this afternoon. There will be no indictment vote today.

New York grand jury cancels Wednesday Trump hearing, report says

Wednesday 22 March 2023 15:56 , Oliver O'Connell

The Manhattan grand jury weighing whether to indict former President Donald Trump over a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels will not meet on Wednesday, according to a new report.

Insider reported that the grand jury – which typically meets Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays – would not meet on Wednesday. Multiple reports indicated an indictment against Mr Trump could drop as soon as Wednesday, but the cancellation calls into question that timeline.

This is a developing story.

Grand jury cancels Wednesday hearing on Trump, report says

ICYMI: What’s happening with the Fulton County grand jury in Georgia?

Wednesday 22 March 2023 15:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Andrew Feinberg reports on the Trump team’s efforts to have the Georgia grand jury probe into election interference tossed out.

Trump asks court to toss entire Georgia grand jury probe

Live update from outside the New York courthouse

Wednesday 22 March 2023 15:31 , Oliver O'Connell

The Independent’s Richard Hall reports from downtown Manhattan:

Watch: Scenes outside a New York courthouse and Trump’s Florida home

Wednesday 22 March 2023 15:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Trump attorney’s 2018 communications with Stormy Daniels handed over to Manhattan DA

Wednesday 22 March 2023 15:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Communications between Donald Trump’s attorney and Stormy Daniels have been handed over to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office – as the office prepares to potentially indict the former president on criminal charges.

Ms Daniels’ attorney Clark Brewster told CNN that the records between the adult film star and Mr Trump’s personal attorney Joe Tacopina date back to when she was seeking legal representation in 2018.

Mr Brewster said that the messages reveal that Ms Daniels had disclosed confidential information to Mr Tacopina about her situation involving the former president.

Rachel Sharp reports.

Trump attorney’s 2018 communications with Stormy Daniels handed over to Manhattan DA