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Updated May 19th, 2021 at 14:23 IST

Donald Trump's organisation now under criminal investigation: New York Attorney General

Ex-US President Donald Trump’s organization is being investigated for criminal fraud, mounting pressure on him & his family, said NY Attorney General’s office.

Reported by: Aanchal Nigam
Trump
IMAGE: AP | Image:self
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Former US President Donald Trump’s organisation is being investigated for criminal fraud mounting more pressure on him and his family, said New York Attorney General Letitia James' office on May 18 (local time) adding that it is working alongside the Manhattan District Attorney. As per New York Times report, the criminal investigation has increased the force looking into former US President and his family’s business. As per news agency ANI, the spokesperson for James, Fabian Levy said that the authorities have informed the Trump Organization. 

"We have informed the Trump Organization that our investigation into the organization is no longer purely civil in nature," Fabien Levy in a statement, as per ANI. "We are now actively investigating the Trump Organization in a criminal capacity, along with the Manhattan DA We have no additional comment at this time."

New York Attorney General Letitia James' office and Manhattan District Attorney have been reportedly conducting parallel investigations for over a year. However, James’ office is leading the civil inquiry which could lead to a lawsuit or fines and Manhattan District Attorney, Cyrus R Vance Jr has been conducting a criminal investigation which could result in charges against the Trump Organisation. The media reports stated the investigation was disclosed after the Attorney General’s office wrote to Trump Organization in recent days.

As per NYT, the Trump Organization was informed that the information collected as part of the civil inquiry could now be subjected to criminal investigation. Reportedly, the lawyer from the Trump side has not yet responded to the request for comment. However, in the past, all investigations and inquiries against Trump have been dismissed by the former US President has dismissed as ‘politically motivated fishing expeditions.’ It is remarkable that Trump a Republican and both Vance and James are Democrats.

The criminal investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney is reportedly primarily focussed on an array of potential financial crimes at the Trump Organization including both tax and bank-related fraud. As per the report, Trump is being examined by the prosecutors to find if the former US President’s company inflated the value of his properties in order to get favourable loans and reduced tax values. 

While Trump's long-serving chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg’s records have been subpoenaed by the district attorney, it is unclear what James office would contribute to that aspect of the inquiry. Her office will continue civil inquiry that ‘focuses on some of the same strands’ as the criminal investigation by the district attorney.

Donald Trump Could Remain In Florida For Rest Of His Life

Trump who in 2020 became the first to lose in his re-election bid in several decades, shifted to his Florida club, Mar-a-Lago. His Mar-a-Lago estate on an island off the coast of Palm Beach in Florida became a permanent home after his tumultuous presidency came to an end at noon on January 20 as his successor Joe Biden took over the White House. 

On May 13, Politico reported that the law officials in Palm Beach County, Florida are preparing for potential indictments and arrests directed at Trump from other states. Further, while talking to MSNBC, Robert Mueller’s former senior prosecutor and general counsel Andrew Weissmann, Nicole Wallace said that the former US President could be potentially stuck in Florida for the rest of his life if other states decide to file charges against him. 

As per the report, Wallace also noted that it happens “all the time in foreign countries” where people are somehow “imprisoned in a country.” He added that in the effective scenario, “Donald Trump would be imprisoned in Florida” because if the former US President went to any other state, he would be under those laws. Therefore, Wallace said, Trump “would really have to stay in Florida.”

IMAGE: AP

 

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Published May 19th, 2021 at 14:23 IST

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