In Trump probe, Manhattan grand jury due back at work

NEW YORK — The Manhattan grand jury investigating former President Donald Trump over hush money payments was due to return Monday afternoon to hear more evidence, with still no word on when it might be asked to vote on a possible indictment.

It was the first time the panel was hearing testimony in the Trump probe since last Monday, when a witness favorable to the ex-president appeared before the grand jury. The jurors did not meet at all on Wednesday, one of the days when they ordinarily convene, and heard other matters on Thursday.

The grand jury is now back on Trump, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss secretive proceedings. It was not immediately clear whether an additional witness might be called before the panel.

Trump raised anticipation that criminal charges were imminent with a March 18 post on his social media platform in which he said he expected to be arrested last Tuesday. He has since used the absence of an indictment to claim, furnishing no evidence, that the investigation is somehow faltering.

The Republican former president has also escalated his rhetoric, warning that “potential death & destruction” would accompany any indictment. He also posted a photo of himself holding a baseball bat next to a picture of District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat. On Thursday, Trump referred to Bragg, Manhattan’s first Black D.A., as an “animal.”