NEW YORK: Manhattan’s district attorney on Monday suggested a grand jury subpoena for US President Donald Trump’s tax returns was part of an investigation of “possibly extensive and protracted criminal conduct at the Trump Organization”, including alleged insurance and bank fraud.
Asked about the investigation at a coronavirus press briefing on Monday, Trump repeated that he believed he is the victim of a political “witch hunt,” which he said was “Democrats’ stuff” and started “even before I got in” to office.Trump is scheduled to respond to Vance’s motion to dismiss by Aug 10.
He said public reports show a basis for each category and timeframe of documents sought from Trump’s accounting firm, Mazars USA. In a footnote to Monday’s filing, Vance cited media reports on Trump’s alleged role in the hush-money scheme and on the “unorthodox strategies” he used to expand his real estate empire.
The dispute over Trump’s taxes already was subject to a ruling from the US Supreme Court last month that the president was not immune from state criminal probes.