Former President Donald Trump had said he was going to be indicted on Tuesday by a New York grand jury investigating him. The probe remains open.
Former President Donald Trump was not indicted Tuesday by a New York grand jury, despite his prediction that he would face arrest that day. The panel will reconvene Wednesday morning.
If the grand jury does vote to charge him, he would become the first former president to be indicted in American history. Some media reports, citing unnamed sources, said an indictment could come Wednesday.
On Tuesday, New York Police Department officers patrolled the perimeter of the Manhattan Criminal Court, where barriers were erected in anticipation of protests and possible violence.
Bomb threats temporarily halted operations at some Manhattan courthouses, including the one where a grand jury has been hearing evidence against Trump in a criminal probe.
“Affected buildings swept and normal operations resumed after a brief period,” said Lucian Chalfen, a spokesman for the court system. “No mention of Trump that I am aware.” An email was received about 11 a.m. claiming bombs had been planted in courthouses, but the threat was deemed not credible, according to the NYPD.
A New York grand jury has been meeting in secret for months, hearing allegations that Trump violated campaign laws in the state and committed fraud by authorizing hush money payments to Stormy Daniels, an adult entertainment actress who claimed she had an affair with Trump before he ran for president.
Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and said he never had a sexual relationship with Daniels.
Over the weekend, Trump claimed on social media that he would be arrested on Tuesday and called on his supporters to “Protest, take our nation back.”
His representatives later said he was citing media reports and leaks. The grand jury investigating him heard Monday from a witness favorable to Trump, apparently a move by prosecutors to give the panel an opportunity to hear testimony that could be seen as exculpatory.
Attorney Robert Costello, who is close to several Trump aides, said Monday he had come forward to say he did not believe former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, who pleaded guilty to federal crimes and served time in prison over the hush money paid to Daniels.
Cohen was a key witness in the Trump investigation and testified several times before the grand jury. He claims he made the payments on behalf of Trump just before the 2016 presidential campaign. Cohen has admitted paying $130,000 to Daniels to stop her from going public about an alleged affair with Trump.
Trump and his top advisors have said Cohen took it upon himself to pay Daniels, and denied any involvement in the payment.
In a conference call with reporters Monday, Costello said he told jurors, “If they want to go after Donald Trump and they have solid evidence, so be it. But Michael Cohen is far from solid evidence,” said Costello, who was also a former legal adviser to Cohen. "He is totally unreliable."
The former president has repeatedly accused New York prosecutors of conducting a "witch hunt" against him, a phrase he has often used in connection with several ongoing investigations into his actions as president.
Trump's criticism of the New York investigation has been particularly hostile toward Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, who heads the probe. Trump has called the district attorney, who is Black, a "racist."
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