Trump criminal probe appears to have ‘taken a serious turn’: Former US attorney

Last week, Manhattan prosecutors convened a second grand jury as part of their criminal probe into former president Donald Trump's company — an investigation that has already yielded charges against Chief Financial Officer Alan Weisselberg.

The new long-term grand jury is expected to focus on how the Trump Organization valued its assets — and potentially vote on new indictments, the Washington Post reported.

On Saturday, former U.S. attorney Barbara McQuade appeared on MSNBC to discuss what the new grand jury could mean.

"Grand jury investigations are by definition secret, and so we only know little dribs and drabs that get leaked out," McQuade explained. "And just because a grand jury is investigating doesn't mean charges will be returned. It may be that they'll investigate and determine that there is insufficient evidence or no crime at all. But the fact that they've proceeded to this stage does suggest that the case has taken a serious turn."

"They (prosecutors) begin by looking at documents and records and talking to people, and if and when they think it's reaching a point where they need to call people in to testify, that's when they impanel a grand jury," said McQuade, who served as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan from 2010 to 2017. "So it sounds like they've reached that stage. I do think this suggests it's moving into an advanced stage and the evidence they've obtained so far is serious enough to believe that charges are possible."

Earlier Saturday, the New York Times reported that Georgia prosecutors are also expected to convene a grand jury as part of a criminal investigation involving the former president.

Watch below.

Barbara McQuade on Manhattan grand jurywww.youtube.com