At least one witness has been told to prepare to give evidence before a grand jury investigating former President Donald Trump and his...
At least one witness has been told to prepare to give evidence before a grand jury investigating former President Donald Trump and his business, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The development is the latest sign that the Manhattan district attorney's office is racing into the next phase of its investigation and will soon present evidence to members of a grand jury to consider bringing charges.
Trump insiders say the move is politically motivated and that the former president is unperturbed by the threat.
'Prosecutors have been informally interviewing Trump Organization employees and it is my understanding that the next step is for them to appear before the grand jury,' said the source.
President Donald Trump called a potential prosecution 'purely political,' following reports Manhattan DA Cy Vance has convened a special grand jury in his probe of the Trump Organization
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. is stepping down at the end of the year, putting time pressure on the probe. Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg faces pressure following reports that the company paid expensive private school tuition for his grandchildren
Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance is leading an investigation into the former president's business practises.
It was triggered by the testimony of Michael Cohen, who worked as Trump's personal attorney and fixer.
One focus is reported to be whether Trump inflated the value of properties to obtain bank loans and deflated them when calculating tax liabilities.
Vance is stepping down at the end of the year, which means he has limited time to bring charges.
The idea of a Trump Organization conspiracy, with the former president directing staff to manipulate property prices, was dismissed by a Trump insider.
'How are they going to prove that? Trump doesn't email,' he said, adding that property prices were always in the eye of the beholder.
'Anyone who knows anything about real estate understands that valuations are subjective and are constantly changing and fluctuating for any number of reasons every day.'
Former President Donald Trump raged against Manhattan prosecutors for conducting a 'purely political' investigation in a statement made to his website
For now, they believe the criminal probe is focused on employees and that it has uncovered nothing on Trump - despite over-the-top headlines on strategically leaked stories.
In February, Vance's office said it had obtained Trump's tax returns after a long legal battle.
Trump had refused to reveal his tax records throughout his presidency, breaking with convention.
In recent weeks Allen Weisselberg, the chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, and his tax affairs have been the focus of the investigators.
His daughter-in-law told CNN he may 'flip' on the former president.
Trump himself dismissed the investigation as more of the same he endured in power.
'This is a continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt in American history,' Trump said in a statement late Tuesday.
'This is purely political, and an affront to the almost 75 million voters who supported me in the presidential election, and it's being driven by highly partisan Democrat prosecutors.'
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