Grand jury convened to hear evidence in criminal probe against Trump

By Alyssa Wilson Published: May 26, 2021

Grand jury convened to hear evidence in criminal probe against Trump

FILE - In this Dec. 12, 2020, file photo President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington before boarding Marine One. Unemployment benefits for millions of Americans struggling to make ends meet were set to lapse at midnight Saturday night unless Trump signed an end-of-year COVID relief and spending bill that had been considered a done deal before his sudden objections. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

By: Alyssa Wilson

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. has convened a grand jury that will decide whether to indict former President Donald Trump, executives at his company or the business as a whole, The Washington Post reported.

The panel of jurors will sit three days a week for six months to hear several cases, including the probe against Trump. According to people familiar with the probe, Vance’s investigation is expansive, and scrutinizes Trump’s business practices and dealings before becoming president. This includes whether the value of properties owned by the Trump Organization was manipulated in a way that defrauded banks and insurance companies.

Trump released a statement saying, “This is purely political, and an affront to the almost 75 million voters who supported me in the presidential election, and it’s being driven by highly partisan Democrat prosecutors. Our country is broken, our elections are rigged, corrupt and stolen, our prosecutors are politicized and I will just have to keep on fighting like I have been for the last five years!”

According to CNN, prosecutors are going through several documents, including Trump’s tax returns. They received access to the records in February after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the former president’s attempt to stop a subpoena to his accounting firm.

The investigation will also examine Trump Tower, the Seven Springs family estate, the Trump Hotel and condo tower in Chicago, as well as payments made to silence Stormy Daniels, with whom Trump denied having an affair with.

BNC Legal Expert Candace Kelly joined Start Your Day with Sharon Reed and Mike Hill to discuss the case. She said the convening of a grand jury is a sign that a prosecutor has strong evidence that they feel confident about presenting.