When it became clear that Trump was not going to be president for a second term, many laid out how screwed he was when no longer shielded by the presidency. He owed money all over town. He and his organization and those who helped run them had almost certainly broken many, many laws. The sky would fall upon him. It’s been over four months since he left office and that hasn’t come to fruition. But as of Tuesday it’s one step close.
According to The Washington Post, Manhattan’s top prosecutor, District Attorney Cyrus Vance — who has been investigating the now-former president and his associates for the last two years — has taken things next level, convening a grand jury to determine whether or not to move forward with indictments. That doesn’t mean anyone’s going to jail, soon or later, but what it does suggest, as per WaPo, is that Vance “believes he has found evidence of a crime — if not by Trump then by someone potentially close to him or by his company.”
Vance’s investigation is expansive, reaching back even before Trump became president. Among the issues they’ve been studying is, as per the Post, “whether the value of specific properties in the Trump Organization’s real estate portfolio were manipulated in a way that defrauded banks and insurance companies, and if any tax benefits were obtained illegally through unscrupulous asset valuation.”
Don’t hold your breath for a decision, though: Given the size and scope of the investigation, the panel judging it is meeting three times a week over the next six months.
Trump could not be reached for comment, nor, as of this writing, has he posted about it on his blog. In the past he has called the investigation a “witch hunt,” as he’s dubbed any attempts to probe into his potentially underhanded legal transpirings. Still, might as well get the popcorn ready.
(Via The Post)