Former US President, Donald Trump has condemned the “unfair attack” on his family business;after The Trump Organization was;made the subject of a criminal investigation.
The organization had been the focus of a civil probe by the New York attorney general, Letitia James,;over whether it falsely reported property values to secure loans and obtain economic and tax benefits or not.
However, on 19th May, James’s office announced;that the probe was “no longer civil in nature”.
“We are now actively investigating the Trump Organization in a criminal capacity, along with the Manhattan DA.”
In response, Trump accused James, who is a Democrat, of having;“literally campaigned;on prosecuting Donald Trump even before she knew anything about me”
“She said that if elected, she would use her office to look into ‘every aspect’ of my real estate dealings.
“She swore that she would ‘definitely sue’ me.nShe boasted on video that she would be, and I quote, ‘a real pain in the a**’.” firstly
He also stated that the investigation is “corrupt” and a “desperate search for a crime”, as he;accused the district attorney’s office of “going after me for years”.
“Our movement, which started with the great election win of 2016, is perhaps the biggest and most powerful in the history of our country. But the Democrats want to cancel the Make America Great Again movement, not by Making America First, but by Making America Last.
“No President has been;treated the way I have. With all of the crime and corruption you read about with others, nothing happens, they only go after Donald Trump.”
Trump had previously branded the then-civil probe a “witch hunt”.
The former President’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, also condemned the inquiry as “flagrant abuse of political office”.
On Twitter, he shared an old video of James promising to pursue all legal options against Trump while she was still campaigning for the attorney general role.
Investigation into Trump Organization
The New York Attorney General announced that she is looking into whether The Trump Organization falsely reported;real estate values to get loans and receive tax and economic benefits or not.
This, she said, includes inflating the value of assets to secure higher lending and undervaluing properties to get tax breaks.
Among the properties in question are two in New York – his northern Manhattan estate and The Trump tower. Others include a hotel in Chicago and a Los Angeles golf course, James’ office disclosed.
Manhattan’s district attorney, Cyrus Vance, another Democrat, has also been investigating Trump’s pre-presidency business dealings for more than two years.
While the exact nature of that probe is not known due to US grand jury rules, Vance’s office has revealed in court filings that it was investigating “possibly extensive and protracted criminal conduct” at The Trump Organization, including tax and insurance fraud and falsification of business records.
Vance’s investigation started after Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen allegedly paid two women to be silent about claimed sexual relationships with the former President in the run-up to the 2016 president.