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NEW YORK (Reuters) – A grand jury in New York is reviewing evidence that former President Donald Trump paid hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential election, the circumstance said. Two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
A grand jury could lay the groundwork for potential criminal charges against the former president by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker testified before a grand jury, a source told Reuters. Pecker was seen entering a building in Lower Manhattan where the grand jury was stationed. Pecker could not be reached for comment.
The publisher had offered to help Trump by buying the rights to the unflattering articles and not publishing them.
The move marks District Attorney Alvin Bragg nearing a decision on whether to indict Trump.
Bragg’s office declined to comment on the Times report.
Daniels said she had a sexual relationship with Trump and received $130,000 in exchange for not speaking about meeting him before the 2016 presidential election.
Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, has been sentenced to three years in prison in federal court in New York for arranging secret payments to Daniels and another woman, former Playboy model Karen McDougal. he took office.
McDougal says he sold his story to American Media Inc (AMI) for $150,000, but it was never published. The incident involved a practice known as “catch and kill” to prevent potentially damaging articles from being published.
Former AMI chief executive and longtime friend of Trump and Cohen, Pecker told prosecutors about the hush deal with McDougall and Daniels ahead of the 2016 US election, which Trump won, Wall reported. The Street Journal reported in 2018.
Reporting by Karen Freifeld and Doina Chiacu.Editing by Jonathan Ortiz
Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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