According to a new report from The Daily Beast, New York prosecutors at the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance have been examining Donald Trump Jr. as part of their wide-ranging criminal investigation into the Trump family business. According to the publication, “investigators with the D.A.’s office have been expanding their criminal probe into Trump’s business empire, asking questions and grilling witnesses—as recently as in the past few days—not only about Trump but particularly about his eldest son, Don Jr., and Allen Weisselberg, one of the former president’s most trusted officers.”
Donald Jr. took on an executive leadership role within the Trump Organization during his father’s time as president, and a wide variety of business activities, from domestic to foreign deals, have been under his purview. According to a recent Forbes report, Donald Jr. and fellow Trump son Eric “unloaded $118 million worth of the president’s real estate since his January 2017 inauguration, striking deals everywhere from New York City and Los Angeles to Charleston, South Carolina and the Dominican Republic.” In Manhattan, prosecutors are looking at issues like potential tax and insurance fraud perpetrated by the Trump business.
Just in recent days, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the release of Trump’s tax returns to Vance’s office. The order marked the second time that the nation’s highest court considered the case after Trump feverishly fought a subpoena from Vance’s team for the records. Ultimately, his fight has proven unsuccessful. Vance’s investigation has included a look at whether the Trump family business fraudulently adjusted its valuations of its assets in order to secure financial benefits like tax breaks. At a Westchester County estate, the Trump Organization once claimed an abnormally highly valued conservation easement, which led to tax benefits. Trump properties like the ex-president’s infamous Trump Tower in Manhattan have also been under investigation.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump Jr. is apparently also a target of an ongoing case from D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine (D), whose team already interviewed Ivanka Trump as part of a case in which they allege that the committee that handled Trump’s inauguration mishandled funds. Apparently, Racine’s team wants to interview Trump Jr. as well. The Trump inaugural committee spent over $1 million to rent space at Trump’s own D.C. hotel — and then they barely even used it, but the money went right into the Trump business anyway.
