Manhattan DA still investigating Trump for financial fraud
Trump has fought the investigation from the start
In recent weeks, state prosecutors have interviewed several employees of President Donald Trump’s bank and insurance company in the latest indication that criminal charges could be lodged against him once he leaves office, according to the New York Times.
Although the interviews with Deutsche Bank and Aon employees appears ominous, it remains unclear whether the office of the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr. will ultimately bring charges.
Prosecutors have been fighting in court for over a year to obtain Trump’s personal and corporate tax returns, which they say are an integral part of the investigation. Since it is a state matter, President Trump is powerless to stop the investigation and cannot pardon himself. The case now rests with the Supreme Court.
Read More: Deutsche Bank, which loaned millions to Trump, ‘tired of negative publicity’
When Trump returns to private life after President-elect Joe Biden takes office in January, he will lose the protection from criminal prosecution that the presidency offers him. Per the Times, Trump has discussed granting preemptive pardons to his eldest children before leaving office and claims that he has the power to pardon himself. But the authority to pardon himself applies only to federal crimes.
As two of Trump’s oldest allies, Deutsche and Aon, could offer investigators a wealth of information about the Trump Organization.
Trump has fought the investigation from the start. A month after Vance demanded documents from the president’s accounting firm, Mazars, USA, Trump sued to block compliance with the subpoena.
Read More: Trump discussed possible pardons for children, Kushner: report
In court papers, prosecutors cited a Washington Post article that concluded the president may have inflated his net worth and the value of his properties to lenders and insurers. However, the Trump Organization’s lawyers are likely to argue to prosecutors that Mr. Trump could not have duped Deutsche Bank because the bank did its own analysis of Mr. Trump’s net worth.
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