Is Donald Trump still going to be indicted? Until recently, all information pointed toward the affirmative, but new information coming out of the Manhattan grand jury targeting the former president is painting a different picture.

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg has been pursuing Trump via a never-before-tested legal theory, resurrecting a years-old investigation that had formerly been shuttered multiple times. The case involves a hush money payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels nearly two decades prior. The grand jury is weighing whether Trump broke New York record-keeping laws by not classifying the payment as a campaign expense. Bragg is also trying to upgrade what would be a misdemeanor to a felony, bypassing the statute of limitations.

In other words, the entire ordeal is a farce, and perhaps the grand jury and prosecutors are coming to terms with that. According to a brand new report, the grand jury is now going on a month-long hiatus (Washington Examiner)

The Manhattan grand jury investigating former President Donald Trump for an alleged hush money payment made in 2016 is reportedly going on a monthlong hiatus.

The grand jury is going on a previously planned one-month hiatus, per Politico, which would push the earliest date for Trump to be indicted to late April.

The report suggests Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is responsible for reconvening the grand jury during planned breaks if he wants them to meet earlier.

The cope from Politico, who originally reported this, is that it was “pre-planned.” But understand that the DA is in control of when the grand jury convenes, and he can force them to come together at any time. If they were close to an indictment, there is zero chance he’d send the grand jury home for a month.

That likely means that the grand jury does not favor an indictment at this point, leaving Bragg to scramble to bolster his case over the next month’s break. There’s little reason to believe, though, that the facts in this case will change substantially enough to affect the current trajectory. Things aren’t looking good for the Democrat fever dream.

Oddly enough, I’m not sure whether this helps or hurts Trump politically. There has very much been a “rally around the persecuted” effect in the 2024 Republican primary since news of an indictment dropped. But if Trump is no longer in legal danger, then the conversation could return to policy and personality, making things more competitive again. Whatever happens, I’m sure it’ll be an interesting ride.