Thread: Trump and company under investigation for bank and insurance fraud

New York Times: Prosecutors subpoenaed Trump's bank in criminal inquiry

By Paul LeBlanc, CNN
Updated 9:11 PM ET, Wed August 5, 2020



(CNN)New York prosecutors subpoenaed President Donald Trump's primary lender as part of the Manhattan district attorney's criminal investigation into the President's business practices, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

Four people familiar with the inquiry told the newspaper that Deutsche Bank was subpoenaed last year for financial records that Trump and the Trump Organization provided the bank. The bank complied with the subpoena and provided the Manhattan district attorney's office with financial statements, records and other materials, two of the people familiar told The Times.

Both Deutsche Bank and the Manhattan DA's office declined to comment Wednesday.

News of the subpoena comes after prosecutors on Monday signaled that their investigation extends beyond hush-money payments and asked a federal judge to dismiss Trump's lawsuit challenging a subpoena for his financial records.

Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance's lawyers have previously said the probe is expansive, and on Monday they pointed out that when the subpoena was issued, "there were public allegations of possible criminal activity at Plaintiff's New York County-based Trump Organization dating back over a decade."

Last month, lawyers for Trump had filed an amended complaint seeking to block the state grand jury subpoena to Trump's long-time accountant Mazars USA for eight years of personal and business records by arguing the subpoena was "wildly overbroad" and issued in bad faith.

Trump's latest legal challenge comes after the US Supreme Court ruled last month that the President does not have broad immunity from a state grand jury subpoena. At the White House, Trump called Vance's probe "a continuation of the witch hunt."

"It's Democrat stuff," Trump said during Monday's press briefing. "They failed with Mueller. They failed with everything."

The criminal investigation is still in an early stage, a person briefed on the matter told The Times.

Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal attorney, told Congress in 2018 that he believed Trump artificially inflated the value of some of his assets in dealings with insurers and banks. Cohen offered only three internal financial documents as his proof, but no other documents to bolster his claims.

The district attorney's office interviewed Cohen as part of its Trump investigation at least three times last year, CNN has previously reported. People familiar with the inquiry say Cohen was asked about the range of allegations he has made against the President.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/05/polit...ion/index.html

Richest Black Man in America Reportedly Investigated For Possible Tax Crimes