CNN is reporting that New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office has said it is joining the Manhattan district attorney's office in a criminal investigation of the Trump Organization.
James’ announcement increases the legal risk that Donald Trump now faces in New York.
Harry Litman, a former U.S. attorney and a Los Angeles Times legal affairs columnist had this comment.
Weisselberg is the Chief Financial Officer of the Trump Organization.
CNN, citing a person familiar with the investigation, said several investigators from the New York attorney general's office, who are knowledgeable about the Trump Organization, have joined Vance’s team. Vance’s office has been conducting a criminal investigation into possible bank, tax, and insurance fraud by Donald Trump and his business.
James’ office began its civil investigation into the Trump Organization in 2019. CNN reported that the civil probe will continue, but the N.Y. AG’s office recently informed Trump Organization officials of the criminal component.
The New York Attorney General has the ability to prosecute financial crimes unde a 1921 statute known as the Martin Act. The first NY AG to really use these powers was Eliot Spitzer, who later was elected governor only to resign due to a prostitution scandal, who became nationally recognized for aggressively going after Wall Street firms.
Both James and Vance have been looking into whether the Trump Organization inflated the value of assets on insurance claims and on financial statements to secure loans , while lowering the value of assets on tax returns to obtain economic and tax benefits.
Earlier this year, after an extended legal battle, Vance’s office obtained millions of pages of documents that include Trump’s personal and business tax returns. The Manhattan D.A has also been looking into how Trump Organization employees, including Weisselberg’s son, have been compensated.
Investigators from James’ office have already deposed a number of Trump Organization officials, including Eric Trump and Weisselberg.
Vance’s office has been working to flip Allen Weisselberg. Last month, Weisselberg’s former daughter-in-law turned over documents concerning the finances of Weisselberg and his son Barry. Questions were raised as to whether Weisselberg’s son paid taxes on perks that he received while working for the Trump Organization. The perks included a Trump-owned apartment where the younger Weisselberg lived for free and payments for private school tuition for his children.
In February 2019, Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen testified at a House committee hearing that Trump had deliberately provided incorrect valuations of assets in official financial documents.
Cohen pleaded guilty to federal charges of campaign finance violations, tax fraud and bank fraud. Here is a video clip in which under questioning by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Cohen laid out the basis for an investigation into possible fraudulent activities by Trump and his businesses.
Eric Trump declined to comment to the Washington Post on the N.Y. AG’s announcement, but he did give a strong hint of how the Trump crime family will respond — they will likely dismiss it as a partisan witch hunt as they did with Robert Mueller’s Russia probe..
The former president’s son, a top official in the Trump Organization himself, texted to the Post a video montage of speeches made by James, largely from her 2018 campaign for New York attorney general, in which she criticized Trump and pledged to challenge his policies and investigate his businesses.
The Post said: “In one clip, James described Trump as an `illegitimate president.’ In another, from James’s campaign, she said, “We’re going to definitely sue him. . . . He’s going to know my name personally.”