New York prosecutors considering an investigation into Donald Trump over hush money payments made during his 2016 presidential campaign have pushed back against a congressional probe.
The Republican chairs of three congressional committees have requested documents and testimony about the case, dismissing it as an "unprecedented inquiry" with no legitimate basis.
The panel is probing Mr Trump's alleged involvement in a $194,800 payment made to porn actor Stormy Daniels to keep her from going public about a sexual encounter she said she had with Mr Trump years earlier.
Will Trump be indicted today?
It's highly unlikely.
The grand jury considering the case isn't expected to make any decisions about a possible indictment until at least next week.
It will meet Monday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons local time, so if you're in Australia, its next meeting will be on Tuesday.
It appears the jury is close to finishing its work after hearing last week from Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, but the timing of a possible decision on whether to charge the former president remains uncertain.
Prosecutors cancelled a scheduled grand jury session on Wednesday and met on other matters on Thursday local time.
But law enforcement officials in New York have been preparing for any unrest should Mr Trump face charges.
Republican members are pushing for a probe
The Republican chairmen of three House committees on Monday sent a letter to District Attorney Alvin Bragg seeking information about his actions in the Trump case.
The Republicans criticised the grand jury investigation as an "unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority."
In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, the general counsel for Mr Bragg, Leslie Dubeck, slammed the congressional request as "an unlawful incursion into New York's sovereignty".
"The Letter only came after Donald Trump created a false expectation that he would be arrested the next day and his lawyers reportedly urged you to intervene," Ms Dubeck wrote in the letter.
"Neither fact is a legitimate basis for a congressional inquiry."
The chairmen requested testimony as well as documents and copies of any communications with the Justice Department to be turned over by Thursday.
"If a grand jury brings charges against Donald Trump, the DA's office will have an obligation, as in every case, to provide a significant amount of discovery from its files to the defendant so that he may prepare a defence," Ms Dubeck wrote.
ABC/AP
