Grand jury investigating Trump is expected to expire by Friday, sources say

A New York grand jury investigating Donald Trump is expected to expire Friday, people familiar with the investigation told NPR.

Danielle Filson, a spokeswoman for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, declined to comment, pointing to Bragg's statement from earlier this month that "There is no magic at all to any previously reported dates."

Bragg insisted at the time that a team of investigators in his office was still "going through documents, interviewing witnesses, and exploring evidence not previously explored."

In November, then-District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., convened a special grand jury to examine evidence of potential crimes by former President Trump.

Vance had already charged the Trump Corporation and former chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg with running a 15-year scheme to evade federal, state and local taxes.

Weisselberg and the Trump Corporation have pleaded not guilty.

By the time Vance stepped down at the end of December, the district attorney's office seemed to be on track to seek to indict the former president.

"I don't think we could have pushed any faster," Vance told NPR at the time.

On Jan. 1, Bragg was sworn in. On the campaign trail, Bragg had said little about how he would approach Trump as district attorney. But he had experience in the area. In 2018, Bragg oversaw the New York attorney general's civil suit against the Trump Foundation.

Once Bragg was in office as district attorney, presentations to the grand jury were suspended. Within two months, the two lead lawyers on the probe had quit.

Attorney Mark Pomerantz wrote in his resignation letter that Bragg had made the decision not to prosecute Trump.

"I and others have advised you that we have evidence sufficient to establish Mr. Trump's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and we believe that the prosecution would prevail if charges were brought and the matter were tried to an impartial jury," Pomerantz wrote.

"I believe that Donald Trump is guilty of numerous felony violations of the Penal Law in connection with the preparation and use of his annual Statements of Financial Condition," the prosecutor wrote. "His financial statements were false, and he has a long history of fabricating information relating to his personal finances and lying about his assets."

Bragg insisted that the grand jury investigation was still active. [Copyright 2022 NPR]