What is a grand jury?

While Bragg is the one pursuing the charges, prosecutors do not indict people; grand juries or judges do.

An indictment would mean a grand jury has found that criminal charges are warranted in a particular case.

A grand jury is a group of randomly selected citizens who are presented with evidence to assess whether an alleged offence merits prosecution. The jurors convene in secret proceedings without a judge present.

In New York, as many as 23 people sit on a grand jury. To bring formal charges, a majority must vote in favour of an indictment.

With subpoena power, the grand jury also serves as an investigative body. The panel can compel parties to produce documents and testimonies relating to a probe.

Unlike a trial jury, the grand jury does not determine whether a suspect is guilty or not. Rather, it decides whether there is probable cause to criminally charge a defendant.

“Indictment is the way a felony moves forward,” Chabrowe said.

Defendants can testify in front of the grand jury, but their testimony may also be used against them in a trial in the case of an indictment.

“There’s no defence attorney present. It’s a secret proceeding. And that’s why we don’t really know exactly what’s happening right now within the grand jury — because nobody could be there but the prosecutor,” said Fordham’s Bader.

What happens next if Trump is indicted?

If Trump is indicted, Bader explained that the next step would be for him to be processed into the criminal justice system and arraigned — in other words, presented with formal charges in court.

Given that it is a highly-publicised “white-collar” case, Trump would likely be released on his own recognisance without bail, meaning he would simply promise to return to court when necessary.

Bader said that, after arraignment, the next stage is “pre-trial litigation”, where the parties file motions to the judge, including to determine what evidence is permissible in court. The pre-trial period also includes a “discovery process” in which the prosecutor shares findings with the defence.

Then the trial happens, with the prosecutors and defence lawyers presenting evidence to convince the jury — a randomly selected group of people from the community — of the defendant’s guilt or innocence.

“The judge tells the jury the law, and then the jury deliberates and would come with a verdict. If there is a guilty verdict, then the judge will sentence a defendant,” Bader said.

Will Trump be arrested?

Trump being handcuffed and guided into the back of a police car is a tantalising image for many of his critics — so much so that social media websites are being flooded by artificial intelligence-generated photos fictionalising his arrest.

But Bader said it is unlikely the former president would be treated like an average suspect.

“In our country, ‘white collar’ defendants are often treated in a more dignified manner. This is one way in which our system is a racist system,” she told Al Jazeera.

“I think because of who the defendant is in this case, he will be treated with extreme kid gloves,” Bader added. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw that he comes in the back of the courthouse, escorted by his Secret Service team and whatever entourage he’s with and that he is given a very quiet and dignified processing.”

Both Bader and Chabrowe said that even if Trump is convicted, it would be unlikely that he would be sentenced to jail time given the nature of the offence.

Can the case be dismissed?

Defence lawyers often ask judges to toss out cases against their clients, arguing there is not enough evidence or no crime was committed. The request is known as a motion to dismiss.

But Chabrowe said judges rarely dismiss criminal cases. “Very, very, very, very few cases are dismissed in motions to dismiss. No one’s going to dismiss [the Trump case],” he said.