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New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s latest moves suggest prosecutors are nearing a decision about charging former President Trump in connection with a $130,000 hush payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election. 

The Manhattan district attorney’s office this week escalated the fight by empaneling another grand jury in the case and presenting witnesses.  

Legal experts and a former colleague of Bragg’s said the Democratic attorney’s actions indicate prosecutors are edging closer to possible charges against Trump. 

“If they actually are presenting witnesses, the first thing I said is, ‘Oh, this is real. They’re going for it,’” said Catherine Christian, a former financial fraud prosecutor in Bragg’s office who was not involved in the investigation. 

Trump has downplayed the development in a series of Truth Social posts, arguing Bragg should focus on fighting crime in New York.  

The former president painted the investigation as a witch hunt and warned about statutes of limitations, referring to the time window in which prosecutors can bring charges. 

“Some Radical Left crazies, coupled with ‘ratings crushed’ and failing Fake News, are trying to get [Bragg] to go the prosecutorial misconduct route, and take on certain very weak cases which are dead anyway based on the Statute of Limitations. FIGHT VIOLENT CRIME!” Trump posted on Wednesday. 

Trump attorney Ronald Fischetti and Bragg spokeswoman Danielle Filson did not return requests for comment for this story.  

The controversy surrounding Trump and Daniels began when Trump’s longtime personal attorney, Michael Cohen, made a $130,000 payment to Daniels in October 2016 to stop her from publicly alleging she had an affair with Trump. Trump has denied the affair. 

Cohen later pleaded guilty to federal campaign finance violations. He claimed that Trump directed him to make the payment and that Trump reimbursed him in monthly installments that included a bonus, even presenting one of the purported checks to lawmakers at a 2019 committee hearing. 

Bragg could attempt to bring state charges of falsifying business records against the former president if prosecutors can show that Trump, with an intent to defraud, was personally involved in unlawfully designating Cohen’s reimbursements a legal expense.

That misdemeanor would carry up to a year in jail, but a felony version of the crime could carry up to four years.  

For prosecutors to pursue the charge, they would additionally need to show the fraud included an intent to commit another crime.  

Legal experts suggest that could involve breaking state campaign finance or tax laws, but they questioned if a federal campaign finance violation would suffice. 

Prosecutors would also need to grapple with the five-year statute of limitations on most New York felonies. Many known allegations involve transactions in 2016 and 2017. 

Christian insisted Bragg wouldn’t have moved forward with the grand jury if he was too late, suggesting a legal doctrine might be in play that allows prosecutors to bring charges after the deadline in certain circumstances, known as tolling. 

“I assume — these are very competent people — they found a reason why it was tolled in this case, possibly because he’s been out of the jurisdiction,” said Christian, who is now a partner at Liston Abramson. 

If the case gets to the merits, proving either charge could also heavily rely on the testimony of Cohen, a convicted felon. 

“I do think Michael Cohen comes with some credibility, given his current track record of cooperation. But we’ll see. He’ll definitely be attacked,” said William “Widge” Devaney, a former assistant U.S. attorney in New Jersey who is now a partner at Baker & McKenzie. 

Cohen said on Wednesday that he recently spoke to Bragg’s office and provided his cellphone, describing it as a “reinvigorated” investigation. 

“I’ve said all along that I thought the DA’s case is by far the simplest to prove, and it is the most destructive to Donald Trump individually, and to his business as well,” Cohen told CNN’s Don Lemon. “I do believe that he will see repercussions for the first time in almost his entire life.” 

The grand jury could also end without bringing any charges, as did one earlier in the investigation. 

Cyrus Vance Jr., Bragg’s predecessor and the one who began the probe, convened a previous grand jury as the investigation expanded from the hush payment to an additional prong of whether Trump and his businesses unlawfully manipulated asset values for tax and loan benefits. 

After Bragg took over, that grand jury expired without levying any charges against the former president. 

At the time, the investigation seemed to lose steam. Two top prosecutors who expressed a desire to charge Trump resigned, indicating that Bragg had stopped pursuing the indictment. 

In the months since, Bragg has secured convictions for the Trump Organization and its former chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, on charges related to executive perks. Five things Biden is likely to say and not say in the State of the Union Abbott issues disaster declaration following Texas ice storm

Now, the hush payment and the president himself have reemerged as a focus in just one of multiple legal battles involving the former president. Trump could become the first former president to face an indictment.

Federal investigations into the mishandling of classified records at Mar-a-Lago and efforts to block the 2020 transition of power also continue. A district attorney in Georgia is investigating Trump’s actions following the 2020 election, and the New York attorney general is also pursuing a civil lawsuit against the former president. 

“On one level, I think Bragg doesn’t want to be left out of the party if there are going to be additional criminal charges brought against Trump,” said Devaney.

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Nigerian court postpones Binance tax evasion case to end of April: Report

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Nigerian court postpones Binance tax evasion case to end of April: Report

Nigerian court postpones Binance tax evasion case to end of April: Report

A Nigerian court has reportedly delayed the country’s tax evasion case against Binance until April 30 to give time for Nigeria’s tax authority to respond to a request from the crypto exchange.

Reuters reported on April 7 that a lawyer for Binance, Chukwuka Ikwuazom, asked a court the same day to invalidate an order allowing for court documents to be served to the company via email.

Binance doesn’t have an office in Nigeria and Ikwuazom claimed the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) didn’t get court permission to serve court documents to Binance outside the country.

“On the whole the order for the substituted service as granted by the court on February 11, 2025 on Binance who is … registered under the laws of Cayman Islands and resident in Cayman Islands is improper and should be set aside,” he said.

FIRS sued Binance in February, claiming the exchange owed $2 billion in back taxes and should be made to pay $79.5 billion for damages to the local economy as its its operations allegedly destabilized the country’s currency, the naira, which Binance denies.

It also reportedly alleged that Binance is liable to pay corporate income tax in Nigeria, as it has a “significant economic presence” there, with FIRS requesting a court order for the exchange to pay income taxes for 2022 and 2023, plus a 10% annual penalty on unpaid amounts along with a nearly a 27% interest rate on the unpaid taxes.

Nigeria’s legal history with Binance

In February 2024, Nigeria arrested and detained Binance executives Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla on tax fraud and money laundering charges. The country dropped the tax charges against both in June and the remaining charge against Gambaryan in October.

Nigerian court postpones Binance tax evasion case to end of April: Report

Tigran Gambaryan (right) was seen in a September video struggling to walk into a courtroom in the Nigerian capital of Abuja. Source: X

Anjarwalla managed to slip his guards and escape Nigerian custody to Kenya in March last year and is apparently still at large.

Related: Binance exec shares details about release from Nigerian detention 

Gambaryan, a US citizen, returned home in October after reports suggested his health had deteriorated during his detainment with reported cases of pneumonia, malaria and a herniated spinal disc that may need surgery.

Binance stopped its naira currency deposits and withdrawals in March 2024, effectively leaving the Nigerian market.

Magazine: Trash collectors in Africa earn crypto to support families with ReFi 

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Sam and Starmer – what did PM actually mean?

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Sam and Starmer – what did PM actually mean?

👉Listen to Politics at Sam and Anne’s on your podcast app👈

It’s the final episode before recess so Sky News’ Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy wonder, given the turbulent times, who’ll be the first to call for Parliament to be recalled?

And talking of the Lib Dems, there’s some new polling which might put a spring into the step of Ed Davey – is his party’s position on Trump and trade doing them some favours?

Of course, there’s plenty of time to talk about the onslaught of US tariffs and implications for the UK – watch out for if the PM is asked about fiscal headroom when he appears before the Liaison Committee of senior MPs later.

Sam and Anne also ponder the PM’s response to Sam at a Q&A yesterday.

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Zelenskyy confirms for first time Ukraine forces active in Russia’s Belgorod region

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Zelenskyy confirms for first time Ukraine forces active in Russia's Belgorod region

Ukraine has confirmed for the first time that its troops have entered the neighbouring Russian region of Belgorod.

Ukrainian forces have also been fighting in parts of Russia’s Kursk region, eight months after a cross-border incursion, although Russia has recaptured lost territory there.

On Tuesday, Russia’s defence ministry said it intercepted and destroyed 23 Ukrainian drones overnight over the Kursk and Belgorod regions.

Ukraine latest: Putin’s questions over ceasefire

In his nightly video address, posted on X, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed for the first time his troops have been active in Russia’s Belgorod region as they seek to protect Ukrainian towns near the border.

He said Ukraine’s top commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, had reported “on the situation at the front, including our presence in the Kursk and Belgorod regions”.

“We continue to carry out active operations in the border areas on enemy territory, and this is just – war must return to where it came from,” he said.

“The main objective remains the same: to protect our land and our communities in Sumy and Kharkiv regions as much as possible from the Russian occupier.”

Last month he referred to “certain steps” undertaken by Ukraine’s military in Russia “a little below the Kursk region” – suggesting a presence in the Belgorod region.

While it is the first official confirmation by Ukraine of its troops in Belgorod, Russian military bloggers had reported battles there in recent days.

Mr Zelenskyy also said that despite Russia’s recapture of areas of Kursk in recent weeks, the operation had a specific purpose.

“Thanks to the entire Kursk operation – we have managed to ease the pressure on other parts of the front, particularly in Donetsk region. It is absolutely crucial to keep destroying Russian equipment and all logistics used by the occupiers,” he said.

Map for 08/04/25 of east Kursk region of Ukraine / Russia border region
Image:
Ukraine now says its troops are operating in Russia’s Belgorod region, as well as Kursk

On Monday, Mr Zelenskyy’s hometown held funerals for some of the 20 people, including nine children, killed by a Russian missile which hit apartment buildings and a playground.

More than 70 people were also wounded in the attack on Friday night on Kryvyi Rih.

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Children killed in Russian missile strike

Read more from Sky News:
Defence chiefs meet in Kyiv
Trump issues warning to Russia

Russian forces mounted several attacks on villages around the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, according to Ukrainian military officials posting on Telegram on Monday.

They have for months been attempting to encircle the city, an important logistics hub, but Ukrainian resistance has slowed the Russian advances in the area.

Donald Trump is trying to broker a temporary ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.

But the fighting has continued, and it remains unclear whether the US will maintain its military support for Ukraine.

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