Ex-National Enquirer publisher David Pecker testifies before Manhattan grand jury in Trump probe

Former head of the National Enquirer David Pecker left the Manhattan courts Monday afternoon amid reports the grand jury had reconvened to hear from another witness in the case of Donald Trump’s hush money payment.

It comes as new reports emerge that the grand jury did not vote on Monday on whether to indict the former president after hearing testimony from Pecker – but are expected to reconvene on Wednesday.

Pecker, who was photographed by DailyMail.com leaning over in the back of a car leaving the courthouse on Monday, was involved in controversy surrounding the 2016 presidential election when he bought exclusive rights to stories that could be damaging to Trump’s campaign.

The Manhattan grand jury investigating Trump’s alleged hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels reconvened Monday afternoon to hear more evidence as the city remains on knife’s-edge waiting to see if the ex-president will be indicted for a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.

Monday is the first time the panel is meeting in conjunction with the hush money case since last week when they heard testimony from a witness favorable to Trump. The jurors broke the normal cadence by not meeting on Wednesday and convening Thursday to hear matters on a separate case.

The grand jury is now back on Trump, according to a person familiar with the matter. It was not immediately clear whether an additional witness might be called before the panel.

Reports emerged that a witness could appear to counter testimony delivered by lawyer Robert Costello on March 21. 

Costello’s testimony was a rebuttal of two-days of testimony earlier this month from Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen, who made the $130,000 payment to Daniels that is now in question. 

Trump alleged last weekend that he would be arrested as early as Tuesday, launching demonstrations in and against his indictment in New York, Washington, D.C. and near his Florida residence at Mar-a-Lago. 

This put police on high-alert, with all 36,000 NYPD officers in uniform and on stand-by for deployment should unrest ensue. 

Trump railed against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in a post on social media on Monday morning.

‘Can you imagine? I am leading the opposition within the Republican Party by 30 plus, and Biden by 6 plus, and everyone is waiting to hear from a local George Soros backed D.A., who has watched Violent Crime in Manhattan soar to Record Highs, as to whether or not he is going to ‘criminally indict’ me for NO CRIME,’ Trump added. 

The former president raised anticipation that criminal charges were imminent with a March 18 post on his social media platform in which he said he expected to be arrested last Tuesday.

He has since used the absence of an indictment or arrest to claim that the investigation is somehow faltering.

Meanwhile, sources have told DailyMail.com that Bragg is having trouble convincing the grand jury to indict, with one court source saying he has a ‘weak’ case.

Trump has escalated his rhetoric in recent days, warning that ‘potential death & destruction’ would accompany any indictment.

He also posted a photo of himself holding a baseball bat next to a picture of District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat. On Thursday, Trump referred to Bragg, Manhattan’s first black D.A., as an ‘animal.’