New York attorney general opens criminal investigation into Trump Organization
Donald Trump is facing growing legal danger after the attorney general’s office in New York said it had opened a criminal investigation into his business activities and those of other Trump family members.
The attorney general, Letitia James, had been conducting a civil inquiry into the Trump Organization. On Tuesday night, her office said it was joining a sweeping criminal investigation being conducted in parallel by Manhattan’s district attorney, Cyrus Vance.
The move – communicated in a recent letter from James to the Trump Organization – significantly raises the stakes for the former Republican president, who now faces three separate criminal investigations.
“We have informed the Trump Organization that our investigation … is no longer purely civil in nature,” James’s office said. “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.”
Trump is accused of falsely manipulating the value of Trump Organization properties in order to secure bank loans and lucrative tax breaks.
Trump is accused of falsely manipulating the value of Trump Organization properties in order to secure bank loans and lucrative tax breaks.
Trump said in a statement on Wednesday: “There is nothing more corrupt than an investigation that is in desperate search of a crime.”
The Trump Organization has previously dismissed the investigations as politically motivated witch-hunts and pointed out that James and Vance are both Democrats.
Vance has been sifting through Trump’s pre-presidency business dealings for more than two years. His office has said in court filings it is investigating the Trump Organization because of public reports of “possibly extensive and protracted criminal conduct,” including tax and insurance fraud and falsification of business records.