Trump maintains innocence ahead of NYC grand jury meeting

NEW YORK (NewsNation) — The Manhattan grand jury in the hush money probe against former President Donald Trump reconvened Monday.

Late Monday, a man appearing to be David Pecker was seen leaving the New York court offices. Pecker is the former publisher of the National Enquirer and got wrapped up in the alleged scandal for his effort to stop adult film star Stormy Daniels from going public about an alleged affair with Trump days before the 2016 election. Pecker has met with the grand jury before. 

It’s still not clear when the grand jury could vote on a potential indictment of the former president, who continues to maintain his innocence.

Over the weekend, Trump held his first 2024 campaign rally in Waco, Texas, where he spoke publicly for the first time about the grand jury. He claimed he would be vindicated in the investigation into an alleged hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election.

“The district attorney of New York is investigating me for something that is not a crime, not a misdemeanor, not an affair. I never liked horse face, not an error, not anything. They have nothing, and yet, it went on and on and on and continues to.”

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) said Trump’s rhetoric regarding his possible indictment is “more overt and blatant” than his language leading up to Jan. 6, NewsNation affiliate The Hill reported.

“Well, I think it’s a concern, the rhetoric that he’s using today is not dissimilar to the type of rhetoric he used prior to January 6. In fact, in some ways, it’s more overt and blatant than the events leading up to January 6,” Lofgren told CNN’s Jim Acosta on Sunday.

Lofgren, who served on the Jan. 6 House select committee, noted that Trump posted a photo of himself holding a baseball bat next to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg as an example of the violent rhetoric. Trump also predicted “potential death & destruction” if he is indicted.

Trump’s attorney Joe Tacopina said on Sunday that the former president’s social media post attacking Bragg was “ill-advised,” but noted he is “not a Trump PR person.”

“I’m not his social media consultant. I think that was an ill-advised post that one of his social media people put up, and he quickly took down when he realized the rhetoric and the photo that was attached to it,” Tacopina said.

Back in Manhattan, there is still heavy security around District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office. On Friday, a powdery substance and a threatening letter addressed to Bragg were found in the building’s mailroom. Authorities determined the substance was not dangerous.

In a memo, the district attorney told his staff that safety remains a top priority and that his office will “continue to apply the law evenly and fairly.”

The grand jury didn’t meet last week Wednesday, even though it was expected to. And on Thursday, it didn’t hear any Trump-related testimony.

At this point, it’s a waiting game to see whether it will meet Monday.

The Hill contributed to this report.