Manhattan DA Possibly Investigating Trump and Company for Fraud
A new federal court filing Monday from the Manhattan district attorney suggests the prosecutor’s office may be investigating President Trump and his company for bank and insurance fraud.
The filing, from District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., argues that Trump’s accountants must comply with a subpoena to turn over eight years of corporate and personal tax returns, citing “undisputed” news reports from last year about Trump’s business practices
The filing did not offer specific details about what the investigation is probing, but the reports in question claimed that Trump may have inflated his net worth and the value of his properties when providing information to lenders and insurers. Trump’s attorneys have rejected accusations that he did anything that conflicts with the law.
The filing stated that, “these reports describe transactions involving individual and corporate actors based in New York County, but whose conduct at times extended beyond New York’s borders.”
“At the time the Mazars Subpoena was issued, there were public allegations of possible criminal activity at Plaintiff’s New York County-based Trump Organization dating back over a decade,” the prosecutor’s office wrote.
The district attorney’s office is seeking the records from Trump’s accounting firm, Mazars USA, as part of a criminal investigation that involves hush-money payments to two women who claim to have had affairs with Trump. The accounting firm has said it will comply with the order.
Trump’s legal team and the Justice Department have argued that the president is immune from investigation while he is in office. Last month, the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 against Trump, rejecting the president’s claim of immunity.
In 2016, Trump attracted harsh criticism when he became the first president in decades who declined to publicly release his tax returns during the campaign season, saying he was under audit by the IRS.
