Prosecutors interview Trump’s bank, insurer as New York probe ramps up
State prosecutors in Manhattan have interviewed several employees of President Donald Trump’s bank and insurance broker in recent weeks, according to people with knowledge of the matter, escalating an investigation into the president that he is powerless to stop.
The interviews with people who work for the lender, Deutsche Bank, and the insurance brokerage, Aon, are the latest indication that once Trumpleaves office, hefaces the potential threat of criminal charges that would be beyond the reach of federal pardons.
It remains unclear whether the office of the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus Vance Jr., will ultimately bring charges. The prosecutors have been fighting in court for more than a year to obtain Trump’s personal and corporate tax returns, which they have called central to their investigation. Theissue nowrests with the Supreme Court.
But lately, Vance’s office has stepped up its efforts, issuing new subpoenas and questioning witnesses, including some before a grand jury, according to the people with knowledge of the matter, whorequested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the investigation.
The grand jury appears to be serving an investigative function, allowing prosecutors to authenticate documents and pursue other leads, rather than considering any charges.
WhenTrumpreturnstoprivate life in January, he will lose the protection from criminal prosecution that his officehas afforded him. While The NewYork Times has reported that he discussed granting preemptive pardons to his eldest children before leaving office — and has claimed he has the power to pardon himself — that authority applies only to federal crimes, and not to state or local investigations like the one being conducted byVance’s office.
The investigation by Vance, a Democrat, has focused on Trump’s conduct as a private business owner and whether he or employees at his family business, the Trump Organization, committed financial crimes.
Person of the Year: Time magazine has named President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris its “Person of the Year.”
Time’s Editor-in-Chief Edward Felsenthal says Biden and Harris won the honor for “changing the American story, for showing that the forces of empathy are greater than the furies of division, for sharing a vision of healing in a grieving world.”
Felsenthal notes, “Everyelected President since FDR has at some point during his term been a Person of the Year, nearly a dozen of those in a presidential election year. This is the first time wehave included a Vice President.”
Argentinaabortionbillpasses:
Lawmakers in Argentina’s lower house passed a bill Friday that would legalize abortion in most cases, a proposal from President Alberto Fernandez in response to long-sought demands from women’s rights activists.
The bill, which needs approval from the country’s Senate in a debate expected before the end of the year, allows for voluntary abortions to be carried out up to the 14th week of pregnancy.
The proposed law was approved in a 131-117 vote with six abstentions after a marathon debate that extended fromThursday into the early hours of Friday.
Demonstrators in favor of decriminalizing abortion, who had spent the night outside the congress building in BuenosAires, erupted with joy and embraced each other as they listened to the parliamentary speaker reading the vote’s results on screens.
Hundreds of yards away, not far from the parliament building, hundreds of opponents dressed in light blue and carrying the national flag deplored the result, with some shedding tears.
Actions against porn site:
Mastercard and Visa said Thursday they would block their customers from using the credit cards to makepurchases onPornhub following accusations the pornographic website showed videos of rape and underage sex.
They reacted following an investigation by opinion columnist Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times that also alleged the site depicts revenge pornography and video taken without the consent of participants.
Mastercard said it is terminating use of its cards on Pornhub after its own investigation confirmedviolations of standards prohibiting unlawful conduct on the site. Mastercard said it also investigating other websites for potential illegal content.
Pornhub, in a statement, called the actions “exceptionally disappointing.” Earlier this week, the company announced steps to protect against images of abuse, nonconsensual activity and underage models on the site, including a ban onunverified users uploading material.
“This news is crushing for the hundreds of thousands of models whorely onourplatform for their livelihoods,” Pornhub said.