Tag: Manhattan DA

Manhattan DA takes financial records from Trump CFO’s former daughter-in-law

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Investigators from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office on Thursday seized several boxes and a laptop computer’s worth of financial records as part of their ongoing investigation into former President Donald Trump’s financial dealings, the Washington Post reports. 

Why it matters: The materials come from Jennifer Weisselberg, who is closely connected to the Trump Organization. She is the ex-wife of employee Barry Weisselberg and the former daughter-in-law of Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s chief financial officer as well as its most senior serving non-family member. 

  • The move highlights how deep the investigation aims to go.

Details: Jennifer Weisselberg is cooperating in the investigation and was complying with a grand jury subpoena that asked her to turn over all financial records connected to the Trump Organization and Wollman Rink, an ice rink in Central Park that Barry Weisselberg managed for the Trump Organization, per the Post. Continue reading.

Former Mueller deputy explains how Trump could get nailed in Manhattan DA investigation

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In an interview with New York Magazine this Thursday, the former deputy to Robert Mueller during the probe into Donald Trump’s alleged ties with Russia, Andrew Weissmann, talked about the legacy of the Mueller investigation and the current investigations of Trump’s businesses.

Weissman, a former federal prosecutor, was asked by NY Mag’s Ankush Khardori what he thinks the odds are that anyone ends up criminally prosecuting Trump.

“If it’s going to happen, it’ll be in Manhattan,” Weissmann said. “That seems like the one that has the most legs. But you and I both know, it’s really hard. I’ve been on the inside and listened to people on the outside. It’s really hard unless you’re inside to know whether they’re really going to be able to make the case.” Continue reading.

Trump sues Manhattan DA to block release of tax returns

Axios logoPresident Trump on Thursday sued Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance in an effort to block New York prosecutors from obtaining 8 years of his personal and corporate tax returns from his longtime accounting firm, Mazars USA.

Context: The New York Times reported this week that Vance’s office had subpoenaed Trump’s tax returns as part of its investigation into hush money payments made to Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election.

  • This will be at least the third time Trump has sued to block the release of his tax returns. Earlier this year, the president filed a lawsuit against House Democrats and the state of New York over a law that would permit tax officials to turn over Trump’s state tax returns.
  • Trump, his family and his company also filed a lawsuit against Deutsche Bank to block the bank from complying with congressional subpoenas for their business records. A federal judge in Manhattan declined their request to block Deutsche Bank, which later confirmed that it is indeed in possessionof Trump’s tax returns.

The big picture: A federal investigation into the payments resulted in Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen pleading guilty to campaign finance violations, and it “effectively concluded” in July with no further charges.

  • Vance’s office opened a new investigation last month into whether the Trump Organization falsely listed its reimbursement of Cohen for the $130,000 payment to Daniels as a legal expense, which would be illegal under New York law.

View the complete September 19 article by Zachary Basu on the Axios website here.

Manafort indicted by Manhattan DA on mortgage fraud charges

The Manhattan District Attorney on Wednesday indicted former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort in connection to a mortgage fraud scheme, announcing the charges within minutes of his sentencing in federal court in Washington, D.C.

District Attorney Cyrus Vance announced 16 charges against Manafort, including residential mortgage fraud, attempted mortgage fraud, falsifying business records and conspiracy. Prosecutors said Manafort engaged in the scheme over the course of roughly a year, from December 2015 until January 2017.

The 11-page indictment, filed in New York Supreme Court in New York City, alleges that Manafort falsified business records to obtain millions of dollars in mortgage loans.

View the complete March 13 article by Brett Samuels on The Hill website here.