A New York prosecutor who is seeking an inquiry into President Donald Trump’s tax returns said Monday he is also investigating criminal conduct at the Trump organization.
The court filings on Monday suggested that the investigation is broader than alleged hush money transfers to two women who earlier stated that they had relations with Trump. Last month, the Supreme Court ruled that lawyers could examine the President’s tax returns.
However, Trump has repeatedly denied the accusations and called the inquires a political ‘’witch hunt’’. Cyrus Vance Jr, the Manhattan district attorney has filed a subpoena to obtain the personal and cooperate tax returns of Donald Trump, while the Trump organization is challenging it.
More
- Trump Tax: Supreme Court Says New York Prosecutors Can See Records
- Pompeo Says Trump To Crack Down On TikTok In Coming Days
Meanwhile, Trump has accused the Manhattan-based lawyer, who happens to be a democrat, of pursuing a political vendetta. Last week, the president’s lawyers argued that the subpoena was issued in bad faith and is widely overboard.
On Monday, in the files submitted in courts, Vance lawyers said that the allegations of criminal fraud at the Trump Organization date back over a decade. The lawyers submitted newspaper articles about supposed insurance and bank fraud at the organization and Michael Cohen’s congressional testimony, who alleged that the president would devalue his assets when trying to reduce his taxes.
They maintained that the allegations go far beyond the hush payments to former Playboy model Karen McDougal and adult film star Stormy Daniels in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election. Such alleged payments could also violate the election campaign financing laws. However, Trump has categorically denied all the accusations.
While talking to the news reporters he described the investigations as ‘’Democrat stuff’’. Trump said that they failed with Mueller, who could not establish that he had colluded with Moscow during the election campaign. He further added that ‘’they lose at every game’’. The Republican President described this as the worst witch hunt of a leader in American history.
Trump became a property developer after inheriting money from his father and is also the first president after Richard Nixon have not made his tax returns public while running for the White House.
Back in 2012, Vance reportedly dropped an investigation into Trump’s son and Ivanka Trump, for allegedly misrepresenting the value of the apartments to prospective buyers. The local media reported that Cyrus Vance scrapped the investigation after a visit from a lawyer for the Trump siblings’ father.
He also subsequently raised more than $50,000 for Vance’s election campaign. Critics and opposition had also raised several questions regarding why Vance did not bring charges against Harvey Weinstein back in 2015 when an Italian model alleged that he had groped her.
Meanwhile, the New Yorker reported that Weinstein’s two lawyers were also donors for the Cyrus Vance’s election campaign. It added that prosecutors within Vance’s office had accused him of publicity hunger.
