Now, a Manhattan prosecutor may be presenting evidence in that case to a grand jury, a major development in a case that had been thought all but closed and could lead to criminal charges against the 45th president.

That's according to a report Monday in the New York Times.

The x-rated performer who goes by Stormy Daniels was paid $130,000 by Trump attorney Michael Cohen shortly before the 2016 election in exchange for keeping quiet about what she says was a sexual relationship with Trump.

Trump denies having an affair with Daniels and told reporters he knew nothing about the payments.

But Cohen, Trump's former personal lawyer, was sentenced to three years in prison in federal court in New York for orchestrating the payments to Daniels and another woman, former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who said she had a months-long affair with Trump before he took office.

Federal prosecutors did not charge Trump, but the indictment against Cohen referred to Cohen acting on behalf of 'Individual 1.'

The possible crime here? That when the Trump Organization repaid Cohen for the hush money, it was marked as legal fees - possibly falsifying business records and a potential campaign finance violation for Trump.

The New York Times reported Monday that David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer, was seen entering the lower Manhattan building where the grand jury is empaneled.

Pecker previously told prosecutors about the hush-payments to Daniels and another woman, former Playboy model Karen McDougal.

If the Manhattan DA were to charge Trump, it would add to a list of cases now facing the man again seeking the White House, including an election fraud probe in Georgia and a Justice Department investigation into Trump's retention of classified documents.