In a story that has been culminating since 2011, last week the supreme court voted to allow Donald Trump’s tax returns and other financial documents to be presented to a New York grand jury. The newly enforceable subpoena for the former president’s tax documents was served & enforced on Monday and documents are now in the hands of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance according to ABC news. While the scope of the investigation is large, Vance has specifically noted his interest in the former president’s payments in “hush money”, as this investigation first began in 2016 after Trump’s Lawyer Micheal Cohen paid adult-film-star actress Stormi Daniels $130,000 to keep quite about her alleged affair with the former president, a claim that has been denied. Cohen also alleged to congress that Trump lied about his personal and buissness finances to ensure favorable loans and avoid taxes, and many expect that these claims will also be investigated by Vance’s and the district of New York’s prosecution team. While the investigation is to begin by looking only at Trump’s financial misgivings with in the U.S., many expect that the investigation may tie back to Duetsche Bank, the german investment firm that has funded many of the former president’s real estate projects and has been gaining the speculative attention of world banking policing agencies.
Trump has called Vance’s investigation “a fishing expedition” and “a continuation of the witch hunt — the greatest witch hunt in history.”
Vance, whose term expires at the end of the year, hasn’t announced if he will seek reelection, leaving questions about who will lead any Trump-related prosecutions in the future. But with the recent confirmation of attorney general Merrick Garland who has stated that he is not opposed to opening retroactive investigations into Trump, specifically in regards to the January 6th insurrection of the capital, it can be safe to assume that Donald will not be out of hot water anytime soon.
CIMA law will provide updates as the story developed.
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