Source: Joshua Rashaad McFadden / Getty
Things are getting quite serious for former President Donald Trump and his Trump Organization.
Tuesday (May 18) revealed that the attorney general office’s civil investigation into the Trump Organization, which has been going on since 2019, will now include a criminal component as the civil probe continues. To make matters worse for the orange menace, Letitia James will now be joining the investigation.
In a statement to CNN, a spokesperson for James confirmed the last developments that should have Trump shaking in his oversized slacks.
“We have informed the Trump Organization that our investigation into the organization is no longer purely civil in nature. We are now actively investigating the Trump Organization in a criminal capacity, along with the Manhattan DA. We have no additional comment.”
While James joining the investigation is a huge development, the New York Times writes, “It is unclear what role Ms. James’s office will play in that aspect of the investigation. In the collaboration, two assistant attorneys general from Ms. James’s office are joining the district attorney’s team, people with knowledge of the matter said.”
The attorney general’s office will now be working in tandem with the Manhattan district attorney’s office, which is currently conducting a “wide-sweeping probe” of the Trump Organization trying to determine whether or not the company misled lenders and insurance companies by inflating the value of various properties it owns to obtain loans and other tax benefits. James joining the investigation signals more trouble for the former president, with the NY attorney general now having the ability to pursue criminal penalties.
CNN also reports that Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance’s team is currently “examining millions of pages of documents that include Trump’s tax returns.” Also, a couple of investigators “steeped in knowledge about the Trump Organization” have joined the district attorney’s squad, according to sources familiar with the situation.
Before the recent developments, the Trump Organization has called the civil inquiry into its shady dealings “politically motivated” because James is a Democrat. In February, the Supreme Court denied Donald Trump’s request to block Cy Vance’s office from seeing eight years of personal and business tax returns. Following the decision, the Manhattan DA was blessed with years of financial records to go through.
Overvalued properties aren’t the only thing the Trump Organization has to worry about. The Manhattan DA is also looking into the alleged hush-money payments made to the women that Trump had relationships with. The bootleg mob boss’ former fixer and attorney Michael Cohen is fully cooperating saying he paid the women off and was reimbursed, plus has the receipts to prove it. Cohen reacted to the news of the new criminal probe on Twitter, writing, “Welcome to the #TrumpProsecutionParty!”
The Trump Organization has declined to comment, according to CNN and the New York Times. Donald Trump will have plenty of time to stew on matters on his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey, where he will be spending his summers, CNN reports.
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Photo: Joshua Rashaad McFadden / Getty
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