Wild Media Speculation Surrounds The Manhattan DA’s Criminal Grand Jury

There is nothing that the news media likes to do more than to fill hours and hours of air time with wild speculation about things of which they have no knowledge or idea of what is going on. Case in point, the Manhattan DA’s criminal grand jury investigation into Donald Trump.

Grand juries, by design, are secret. The media is not in the court room as prosecutors present evidence and witnesses to the grand jury. The Manhattan DA’s office has been air-tight, there have been no leaks to the media from the Manhattan DA’s office or grand jury members. When the media says “according to our sources close to the case,” they are talking about the lawyers to witnesses or the witnesses themselves, who are not subject to the secrecy requirement.

The media has been easily manipulated by unindicted “Individual-1,” Donald Trump. A couple of weeks ago he tweeted that he would be arrested on a Tuesday – something that he had no way of knowing unless the Manhattan DA and Trump’s lawyers had worked out a time to report for his booking – and there was no public facing evidence that this ever occurred.

When Trump wasn’t arrested on the date he randomly put out there for his arrest, he then began falsely asserting that the DA or the grand jury was having second thoughts, or had decided not to indict him. Again, Trump had no way of knowing any of this. The grand jury continues to meet and heard from additional witnesses this week.

The media must stop reporting every utterance from this damn fool as if it is newsworthy. It is not. Trump is simply proving that he can manipulate you any time that he wants because of the way in which the media reports the “news.” Stop being so stupid.

Lawyers know that the wheels of justice turn slowly – too slowly for those of us who want to see criminals held accountable and justice served. I’ve had that bottle of champagne chilling in the refrigerator for years, now. It’s not going anywhere.

The latest wild speculation from the media: the grand jury is taking a pre-scheduled hiatus in April. Oh Noes! What could this mean? CNN reports, NY grand jury investigating Trump will break for most of April, source says:

The Manhattan grand jury hearing the hush money case involving former President Donald Trump is currently scheduled to break after April 5 and restart later in the month, according to a source familiar with the matter.

If the grand jury does not hear the case again for several weeks, it will pause what had been a wave of anticipation that a former president could be indicted for the first time in American history [anticipation created by Trump’s manipulation of the media]. Trump himself incorrectly predicted he would be arrested last week amid news reports about security preparations being made in the event of an indictment.

The planned hiatus surrounding upcoming religious holidays and city public schools’ spring vacation was previously scheduled for the investigative grand jury, which was empaneled to serve for six months.

The grand jury is also not expected to hear the Trump hush money case on Thursday or next week when they’re scheduled to hear other cases, the source said.

Grand jury proceedings are secret and prosecutors can change plans for the panel at any time.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation into Trump had appeared to be nearing a conclusion earlier this month after the former president was invited to testify before the grand jury.

Since then, two more witnesses have testified, including lawyer Robert Costello, who appeared on Trump’s behalf. On Monday, the grand jury heard testimony from David Pecker, the former chairman of the publisher of the National Enquirer who played a key role in the hush money payment.

But wait! Maybe the grand jury does not need to meet in April because it has already completed its work and has already voted to indict Trump, and the Manhattan DA is choosing his timing of the announcement. Huh, huh, didn’t see that coming, did you? Insider reports, The Trump grand jury is taking a weekslong break, clouding when potential charges could be filed against the former president (excerpt):

For the rest of this week and next week, the grand jury is expected to hear evidence in an unrelated case and take time off for the upcoming Passover holiday. Politico first reported on the break.

That’ll be followed by a two-week hiatus that was already scheduled when the grand jury was first convened by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg earlier this year, a person familiar with the proceedings told Politico.

The planned time-off clouds when a potential indictment against Trump could be filed.

The grand jury sits in secret, and the Manhattan district attorney’s office is statutorily barred from discussing its work. A spokeswoman declined to comment on the grand jury’s schedule.

[F]ormer prosecutors previously told Insider that the district attorney does have the power to slow-walk the filing of an indictment and that the grand jury may have already voted.

“It’s entirely possible that they have voted already,” the source with knowledge of the case told Insider.

If and when an indictment is filed — meaning the grand jury has voted to charge Trump and an indictment signed by its foreperson has been filed with the local clerk’s office — Bragg is expected to contact multiple agencies and individuals at approximately the same time.

Those “an indictment has been filed” calls will go out to the Secret Service, the New York Police Department, other law enforcement, and Trump’s defense lawyers.

“The Secret Service has been told they will get a heads up” as soon as an indictment is filed, the source said. “That’s when the Secret Service will make final plans for how to bring Trump to court. But they’re waiting until it’s filed.”

* * *

It’s possible that grand jurors already voted on Monday to bring charges against Trump and that its future sessions have no bearing on the ex-president’s fate, a law enforcement source said Wednesday.

Former prosecutors told Insider that if grand jurors voted on Monday, Bragg’s office can hold off indefinitely on filing them, a delay that would give law enforcement and city officials time to plan for make security arrangements ahead of an indictment being announced and Trump’s first appearance in court.

Of course, Trump has used the delays to proclaim his innocence. He previously said, without any basis, that he would be arrested on March 21 — a day that passed without incident.

In a post on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday, he praised the grand jury, which operates in secret.

“I HAVE GAINED SUCH RESPECT FOR THIS GRAND JURY, & PERHAPS EVEN THE GRAND JURY SYSTEM AS A WHOLE,” he wrote in all-caps. “THE EVIDENCE IS SO OVERWHELMING IN MY FAVOR, & SO RIDICULOUSLY BAD FOR THE HIGHLY PARTISAN & HATEFUL DISTRICT ATTORNEY.”

Oh, so now this POS is trying to tamper with the jury after threatening prosecutors with violence earlier this week. Add a couple of more counts to his indictment.

But wait!  I’ll take what’s behind door number 3, Bob (and it had better not be that damn burro). Allen Weisselberg just fired his Trump-funded lawyers — is he about to flip?. Ooh, Ooh, do tell!

Sources are telling WNBC that Allen Weisselberg, the former CFO of the Trump Organization, has fired his Trump Org lawyers.

Weisselberg is not the first one to do something like this. Michael Cohen did it just before he flipped on Trump. Cassidy Hutchinson had a Trump-funded lawyer before she fired him and got another lawyer so she could tell the Jan. 6 investigatory committee the truth about what she learned working for former chief of staff Mark Meadows. Each time a Trump-funded lawyer was fired, it has been an indication that those previous allies were about to turn. [Two examples are still only a coincidence].

Weisselberg is serving a five-month sentence in a Rikers Island jail, known for being one of the most violent in America. MSNBC’s Ali Velshi noted that if someone was trying to get Weisselberg to flip, now would be the time. Last month, the New York Times reported that the Manhattan prosecutor’s office was pondering whether to file new charges against Weisselberg for fraud.

Nick Gravante and Mary Mulligan are no longer with Weisselberg.

“Our colleagues at NBC saying that his attorneys, who are being paid for by the Trump Organization to represent Weisselberg, are no longer representing him,” said Velshi. “It’s a big deal. That could potentially explain the delay.”

The delay that Velshi is talking about is the idea that Trump claimed eight days ago that he was about to be arrested. He hasn’t been. In fact, there’s no indication that he’s been indicted either. Grand juries are secret, so it’s also possible that they have voted to indict and it simply hasn’t made its way to Trump yet. It’s assumed the information will be leaked by Trump when it happens, because the district attorney can’t legally reveal any information from the grand jury.

Oh, it will be definitely be leaked by Trump. He and his attorneys will try to get out in front of it and spin it to his advantage with his MAGA/QAnon crazy base. This grifter no doubt will milk his MAGA/QAnon crazy base for his “defense fund” (slush fund).

If Allen Weisselberg flips to avoid doing hard time for the rest of his life, he will be the star witness for both the Manhattan DA and the New York Attorney General in their prosecutions against Donald Trump, his ne’er-do-well children, and the Trump Organization. Wrap ’em all up with a nice bow.