New grand jury to be seated as Trump criminal probe continues
NEW YORK >> New York prosecutors investigating former President Donald Trump’s business dealings have convened a new grand jury to hear evidence in the probe as the previous panel’s term was set to run out, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press Thursday.
The development comes as the Manhattan district attorney’s office is weighing whether to seek more indictments in a case that has already resulted in tax fraud charges against Trump’s company, the Trump Organization, and its longtime CFO Allen Weisselberg.
Trump himself remains under investigation after District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. led a multiyear fight to get access to the Republican’s tax records.
The person was not authorized to speak publicly and did so on condition of anonymity. The news of the new grand jury was first reported by The Washington Post.
The Manhattan DA’s office declined comment. A message seeking comment was left with a Trump Organization lawyer.
Investigators working for Vance and New York Attorney General Letitia James have spent more than two years looking at whether the Trump Organization misled banks or tax officials about the value of the company’s assets, inflating them to gain favorable loan terms or minimizing them to reap tax savings.
As part of a continuing civil investigation, James’ office issued subpoenas to local governments in November 2019 for records pertaining to Trump’s estate north of Manhattan, Seven Springs, and a tax benefit Trump received for placing land into a conservation trust. Vance issued subpoenas about a year ago seeking many of the same records.
James’ office has also been looking at similar issues relating to a Trump office building in New York City, a hotel in Chicago and a golf course near Los Angeles. Her office also won a series of court rulings forcing Trump’s company and a law firm it hired to turn over troves of records.
In the criminal case, Weisselberg has pleaded not guilty to charges he collected more than $1.7 million in off-thebooks compensation, including apartment rent, car payments and school tuition. Trump’s company was also charged in the case, which prosecutors have described as a “sweeping and audacious” tax fraud scheme.