Office of New York Attorney General Teams up With Manhattan Prosecutors, Intensifying Trump Investigation
On the heels of a sweeping civil probe, the offices of the New York Attorney General and the Manhattan District Attorney announced they are jointly investigating the Trump Organization for criminal charges.
Former President Donald Trump's company the Trump Organization is under scrutiny by both the New York AG and Manhattan prosecutors in a new joint effort to probe the potential criminal case, including numerous Trump properties.
A grand jury will decide if the evidence is enough to indict former President Trump or some of the Trump Organization associates.
For about two years, the two separate offices have been investigating Trump's organization. Both offices are investigating suspected illegal financial activities within the Trump organization regarding proprieties, including an office building in downtown NYC and a Trump estate in Westchester, New York.
The New York Attorney General hired FTI Consulting, Inc, forensic accounting specialists, to assist in the investigation.
Recently, prosecutors from the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. subpoenaed the personal bank records of Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg, 73. The Manhattan prosecutors are investigating the alleged tuition and other benefits given to Trump employees, including Weisselberg's family members.
Simultaneously, the office of the NY AG is conducting a tax probe into Weisselberg, who has been a Trump employee for many years. New York Attorney General Letitia James is handling the investigation of how taxes were paid on specific perks that the Trump Organization gave to CFO Weisselberg.
Mr. Weissselberg has not been accused of any crimes at this time. Sources believe Weisselberg is being courted for a role as a witness for the prosecution.
Vance and his team's sweeping investigation focuses upon claims that Trump personally and within his corporation received bank loans and tax benefits by purposefully manipulating property values.
Only a few weeks ago, the Justice Department executed search warrants as part of an active investigation into Giuliani's dealings with numerous foreign Ukraine men during Trump's time in office.
The two powerful offices are teaming up with each other, offering significant, additional advantages to each other’s investigations.
The two prosecutors can lead a grand jury, where they can work with materials typically impossible to review without a judge's order. Each team has reaped their evidence that can now be shared and explored for this complicated financial case.
In response to the new alliance between the two New York offices investigating the Trump Organization, the former president once again said it is "the greatest witch hunt in the United States history."
The new collaboration between the two powerful legal teams signifies an amped-up investigation into The Trump Organization.
Currently, the investigators are reading millions of documents seized legally from the Trump Organization.
A few months ago, Trump was dealt a blow by a Supreme Court stay instructing his attorneys to deliver numerous years of the former president's tax returns and financial records to New York prosecutors. The decision to allow the long-hidden finances of Trump was the result of an eighteen months-long legal battle.
The former president's attorneys fought to block the release of his tax returns and other financial documents from the Manhattan District Attorney's office. But in a unanimous decision, the highest court in the land ruled the Trump attorneys must release the mountain of financial records to the ongoing criminal investigation.
The criminal case began in earnest in 2018 as leaked reports emerged of two women who received hush money to keep their affairs with Trump a secret. Trump denies both the affairs and the hush money payments.
The New York Attorney General's office, always tight-lipped about investigations, released a one-sentence statement.
The crisp announcement said, "We are now actively investigating the Trump Organization in a criminal capacity, along with the Manhattan D.A.”
