A New York grand jury considering evidence of former President Donald Trump‘s alleged role in a 2016 hush money payment to a porn star has reportedly been called off on Wednesday, delaying any possible indictment of Trump.
The grand jury will not meet on Wednesday, delaying a potential indictment of the former president until Thursday at the earliest, according to The New York Times. The news comes after a Daily Mail report suggested that an indictment was expected to come down on Wednesday.
The grand jury case fell into a firestorm of controversy this week after Trump suggested over the weekend that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg planned to have Trump charged and arrested on Tuesday. The day passed without an indictment.
The pause in the case comes two days after Robert Costello, a former federal prosecutor, testified in front of the grand jury that Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen, who Costello used to give legal counsel to, is untrustworthy. Cohen is believed to be the key witness in whatever charges may be brought.
“I told the grand jury that this guy couldn’t tell the truth if you put a gun to his head,” Costello told The New York Times after his testimony.
Harvard Law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz said during a Fox News appearance on Tuesday night that Costello’s testimony likely derailed Bragg’s plans. Dershowitz said that Costello’s attacked on Cohen’s reliability may have killed Bragg’s chances of relying on the former Trump attorney as a witness.
“Bob Costello has changed this case dramatically,” Dershowitz told Fox host Sean Hannity.
“I think that Bragg now only has two possible results from that. Number one, he can say, ‘alright, I’m going to try to make the case without Cohen.’ He cannot use Cohen as a witness anymore. That would be unethical because of the testimony that Costello gave,” he continued. “Or he could say, ‘look, I have to drop the case.’ He may not be able to make it without Cohen. But if he can’t make it without Cohen, he can’t make it, because no ethical prosecutor is allowed to put on as a witness somebody who has told the lies and has contradicted himself so much.”
Bragg is investigating Trump’s role in a $130,000 payment Cohen made to the porn star known as Stormy Daniels in 2016. Cohen allegedly made the payment on behalf of Trump to keep Daniels from spreading claims that she slept with Trump in 2006 soon after Trump’s wife, Melania, gave birth to their son. Trump, who was running for president at the time of the payment, has denied his alleged role in the payment and the affair.