A Manhattan grand jury has invited former President Donald Trump to testify about the hush money controversy with porn star Stormy Daniels, suggesting criminal charges may follow.

The Manhattan district attorney's office extended the offer to Trump's legal team, Fox News noted.

Under the direction of Alvin Bragg, the District Attorney's Office has spent the past five years looking into the 2016 hush money incident.

The opportunity to testify before a grand jury in New York is often a preliminary to an indictment. If this happened, it would set a historical precedent for the charge of a former president of the United States.

As with many other states, defendants in New York have the right to testify before a grand jury, but Trump is unlikely to do so.

Although hush payment is not illegal in and of itself, the fact that Daniels' NDA aided Trump's campaign raises the possibility that prosecutors will try to treat the $130,000 she received as an illegal campaign contribution.

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Several Agencies Are Investigating Donald Trump and His Business

Several government authorities are investigating Donald Trump and his business. Trump's role in the endeavor to remain in power after the 2020 election and the mishandling of official materials at Mar-a-Lago are subjects of investigations assigned to a special counsel by the Justice Department.

A prosecutor in Georgia is also looking into whether Trump tried to sway the election there as well, said The Hill.

But, Bragg could get the upper hand if he acts quickly on the matter that has percolated since Trump's first presidential campaign, ultimately leading to the dismissal of Trump's longtime attorney.

Michael Cohen, Trump's attorney and longtime fixer, claimed in his guilty plea for campaign finance crimes in 2018 that he paid Daniels at Trump's direction and was reimbursed in installments by the president.

Bragg started giving the grand jury evidence in late January. The prosecution may pursue charges of fabricated business records if it can prove that Trump took part in the misclassification of Cohen's reimbursements as legal expenditures, legal experts suggested.

"Some Radical Left crazies, coupled with 'ratings crushed' and failing Fake News, are trying to get [Bragg] to go the prosecutorial misconduct route, and take on certain very weak cases which are dead anyway based on the Statute of Limitations," Donald Trump wrote on social media last month, dismissing the prospect of charges.

Donald Trump Delays Trial to Avoid Charges, Says Michael Cohen

If Donald Trump continues to dodge legal repercussions for his alleged violations of the law, Cohen claims it will become increasingly impossible to prosecute him with any crimes, according to Newsweek.

For the 19th time, Trump's former attorney and right-hand man, Cohen, met with Bragg on Tuesday in Manhattan to discuss the claims that Trump paid adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 in hush money before the 2016 election. This information is being collected in preparation for a possible grand jury investigation.

Trump's team wants to put off the probe for six months, and their only reason is that they are just not ready yet, said Cohen, speaking to MeidasTouch.

"Well, the question becomes, what the f*** have you all been doing over the course of the last two years? I don't think that's a valid response to give a judge, so I don't think that's going to get delayed," he added.

Cohen continued expressing his opinion that Trump's political standing will influence the judicial processes.

"Political power, in this sense, could give Donald a kind of 'get out of jail free' card if by some chance he somehow becomes the Republican nominee [and] if-it's hard to believe-he becomes president," he said.

Donald Trump has stated that he will continue to run for president in 2024 even if he is indicted in the numerous ongoing state and federal investigations.

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Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Trump legal bomb: D.A. signals Trump charges 'likely' in hush money probe - From MSNBC