(NEW YORK) — The Manhattan district attorney’s office has informed former President Donald Trump of his right to testify before a grand jury investigating his role in a payment to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election, sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News.
In New York, potential targets of investigations are, by law, given the chance to appear before the grand jury hearing evidence.
So-called “cross notice” was given to Trump in recent days, the sources said, and could be a sign that District Attorney Alvin Bragg is moving toward a charging decision.
“The Manhattan District Attorney’s threat to indict President Trump is simply insane,” a Trump spokesperson said in a statement. “President Trump was the victim of extortion then, just as he is now. It’s an embarrassment to the Democrat prosecutors, and it’s an embarrassment to New York City.”
In recent weeks ABC News has reported on the witnesses who have appeared before the grand jury, including former Trump associates Kellyanne Conway, Hope Hicks and Michael Cohen.
The district attorney has been probing whether Trump falsified business records in connection with a $130,000 payment made to Daniels before the 2016 election, which prosecutors allege was to keep her from talking about a long-denied affair, sources familiar with the matter have told ABC News.
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