Manhattan DA Cy Vance Accelerates Criminal Probe Of Donald Trump With New Interview

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Donald Trump chewed up people throughout his 74 years of life and spit them out. A third-generation grifter, he derided honest small contractors as marks. He did the same thing with those around him, even longtime friends and acquaintances., all without any substantial consequences. Yet, it appears that three-quarters of a century conman’s streak is running into a serious thorn thicket.

Michael Cohen was the ex-president’s former personal attorney and fixer. Right before the 2016 election and after years of faithful service, Cohen had to mortgage his own home to pay off two women his boss had sex with, according to The New Yorker. Trump ended up president, and Cohen ended up in prison with a three-year sentence. But the former fixer may get his just dues after all.

Cohen told Reuters in a brief interview that he was going to the Manhattan, New York District Attorney (DA) Cy Vance Jr.’s office virtually for his seventh interview. That is right, seventh.

The DA is conducting a criminal investigation into 45. Any pardon the ex-president is hiding up his sleeve is not applicable to state charges, and this is definitely a state investigation.

The former fixer compared a March 1 U.S. Supreme Court decision, which was the ex’s failed final thrust to keep his tax records sealed, to the “holy grail” for Vance, according to Reuters. It opened the door to all the Trump Organization’s transactions and was an answer to whether there were white-collar crimes.

After Vance won the fight for records, Trump’s accountants at Mazars USA LLP had to release “millions of pages” of financial records. They included. the ex’s tax returns and other related business records. In addition, they included all of the communications between Trump, his company, and his accountants at Mazars.

In an August filing, Reuters found that the Manhattan DA said his office was investigating:

‘[P]ossibly extensive and protracted criminal conduct.’

At this time, Vance has not yet described the depth of the investigation. In a September filing, Reuters wrote that the DA said:

‘[The] “mountainous” misconduct allegations could justify a grand jury probe into possible tax fraud, insurance fraud, and falsification of business records.’

Naturally, the Trump Organization said it was blameless. Trump claimed that since Vance was a Democrat and Trump a Republican, the investigations were all about politics.

Even though Cohen is out of prison due to the coronavirus pandemic, he is still under house arrest and serving out his entire three-year sentence. He can go outside to walk under the terms of his confinement, which is how Reuters conducted the interview Wednesday.

DA Vance started the Trump Organization investigation in 2018. It all began with the alleged hush-money payment Cohen made on behalf of his boss. At one point, when Trump was unhappy with his former fixer, he had his own District Attorney Willliam Barr grab Cohen and throw him back in prison. Fortunately, that was illegal.

Since it began, the investigation has expanded to encompass Trump himself as an owner of a private business. Vance has been investigating whether the Trump Organization “engaged in criminal tax evasion among other charges.”

As an attorney himself, that was all he was willing to say about the DA’s ongoing investigation.

The Mueller Report Adventures: In Bite-Sizes on this Facebook page. These quick, two-minute reads interpret the report in normal English for busy people. Mueller Bite-Sizes uncovers what is essentially a compelling spy mystery. Interestingly enough, Mueller Bite-Sizes can be read in any order.