The Manhattan District Attorney's Office is presenting evidence to a grand jury about former President Donald Trump's alleged role in hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. The move suggests that prosecutors may soon bring charges against the ex-president.

The investigation stems from a series of payments Trump made in the wake of the 2016 presidential election, allegedly to prevent accusations he had an extramarital affair with Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Steph

The grand jury was recently impaneled, and the beginning of witness testimony provides a signal that Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg is nearing a decision about whether to charge the former president, according to a report from the New York Times.

Bragg's office began a criminal investigation into Trump and his businesses under former Manhattan district attorney Cy Vance Jr. The probe focused on the money payments, and whether Trump's businesses misled lenders and investors about the value of Trump's companies' properties.

Trump's former personal attorney and longtime "fixer" Michael Cohen pleaded guilty in federal court in 2018 to making payments "at the direction" of Trump.

The Times notes that it could be hard to prove that Trump had anything to do with the payments, even though Cohen alleged in court that he did. Trump's lawyers would likely argue that Cohen is lying because he has an "ax to grind against Trump," according to the report.

The $130,000 in payments to Daniels, sent days before Trump was elected, was made as part of a nondisclosure agreement over an affair Daniels alleges she had with Trump.

Trump has denied the affair.

The Times reported that the case could hinge on prosecutors showing that Trump and his company falsified records to hide the hush money payment from voters in advance of the election.

On Monday, the former publisher of the tabloid that helped broker the deal with Daniels, David Pecker, was seen with his lawyer entering the building in lower Manhattan, the site of the grand jury.

The escalation of the case immediately makes it one of the most important in what has become a sprawling legal inquiry involving the former president, who over the weekend made some of his first campaign stops in his latest bid to return to the White House.

After securing a conviction of Trump's company on fraud charges, New York prosecutors are emboldened in their pursuit of the former president.

Trump also faces probes centered on his actions in Georgia following the 2020 election and his handling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence.

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