There’s a strong likelihood that evidence has been established of intent to commit fraud.
The announcement by New York Attorney General Letitia James that her office is “actively investigating the Trump Organization in a criminal capacity” was greeted with a wave of nearly unanimous snap analysis that this spelled big trouble for former President Donald Trump and his company. But behind the scenes, many lawyers, including experienced prosecutors in New York, expressed confusion about what the move actually signifies.
It turns out that James’ unusual public statement portends bad news for Trump and his family-run operation but not for the reason you likely suspect.
The attorney general’s spokesperson noted that the AG was investigating “along with the Manhattan D.A.,” whose office has been conducting for some time a criminal investigation into whether Trump’s company inflated the value of its properties to obtain loans and lowered the values to limit its tax burden. Rather than a new, independent investigation into similar matters, the announcement was more of a combining of resources. Members of the AG’s staff have been named as “special assistant district attorneys” and will be working as part of District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.’s team. For that reason, it might have been more accurate to say that her team is assisting the DA’s already underway investigation. Continue reading.