(New York) New York prosecutors have offered former US President Donald Trump to testify before a grand jury as part of an investigation into bribes allegedly paid to a pornographic actress, a procedure that could lead to an indictment of the former head of state, US media reported Thursday.
THE New York Times and the washington post claim Mr Trump was asked to testify next week about a US$130,000 sum paid just before the 2016 presidential election to porn actress known as Stormy Daniels, who claims to have had an affair with the former president.
Both newspapers cite people with knowledge of the proceedings led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat who took office in January.
According to New York Timesa proposal such as this “almost always means that an indictment is near”.
If an indictment is filed, Donald Trump could be the first former US president ever charged.
Mr. Trump, who has already declared himself a candidate for a new race for the White House, is the subject of several investigations, at the federal and state levels, concerning several potential wrongdoings which occurred before, during and after his term, but for which he has not been charged.
An impeachment could affect his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election.
Two weeks before the November 2016 election, Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid $130,000 to Stormy Daniels, real name Stephanie Clifford, so it is suspected she would not return. public an intimate relationship she would have had with the real estate mogul a few years earlier. Mr Cohen said he was later reimbursed.
If not properly accounted for, Mr. Cohen’s reimbursement could result in Mr. Trump being indicted for a misdemeanor in New York, or even a felony if it was to cover up a second misdemeanor, according to the New York Times.