Inquiry into Trump Organisation now a criminal matter

The Trump Organisation is being investigated in a ‘criminal capacity’, the New York state Attorney-General’s office says.

Former US president Donald Trump has denied all allegations. Picture: AFP.

The Trump Organisation is being investigated in a “criminal capacity”, the New York state Attorney-General’s office has announced, as prosecutors advance their probe into former president Donald Trump’s business dealings.

“We have informed the Trump Organisation that our investigation into the organisation is no longer purely civil in nature,” a spokesman for Attorney-General Letitia James’ office said.

“We are now actively investigating the Trump Organisation in a criminal capacity, along with the Manhattan DA.”

The organisation is the holding company of hundreds of Trump entities, ranging from ­hotels to golf courses.

Ms James’ office had until now been investigating allegations of bank fraud and insurance fraud through civil proceedings.

Mr Trump, who left the White House in January, denies wrongdoing and has described a parallel criminal investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance as “a continuation of the greatest political witch hunt in the history of our country”. Both Mr Vance and Ms James are Democrats. Bolstering its legal team, the Trump Organisation in April hired a veteran criminal defence lawyer, 84-year-old Ronald Fischetti.

The District Attorney’s investigation initially focused on hush payments made to two women who allege they had affairs with Mr Trump, but had expanded to allegations of tax evasion, and insurance and bank fraud.

That investigation is being carried out behind closed doors in front of a grand jury, and ­appeared to be progressing, with Mr Vance’s team receiving eight years of Mr Trump’s tax returns in March, but only after the former president fought the move, resulting in a legal battle that twice reached the US Supreme Court.

Two assistant attorneys-general will join the District ­Attorney’s efforts, according to sources familiar with the matter cited in The New York Times, as Ms James’ office continues its civil inquiry.

The inquiries by both the District Attorney and the Attorney-General have been investigating some of the same Trump assets, which are reported to include his Seven Springs Estate in Westchester County, New York.

Mr Trump is also facing a criminal inquiry in Georgia, where a district attorney is examining looking his attempts to overturn the election outcome in the state.

Six months after Mr Trump lost the US election, millions of Republicans still look to the one-term ex-president as their leader, despite his repeated claims that Joe Biden prevailed in the vote because of fraud. The only leader in US history to be impeached twice, Mr Trump retreated to his Mar-a-Lago ­estate in Florida after leaving office. He was also banned from Twitter and Facebook following the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

Yet his messaging appears to still be resonating, with a CBS News poll released last weekend finding that 67 per cent of Republican voters believe Mr Biden is not the legitimately elected president. Some Republicans fear that failing to reject Mr Trump’s rhetoric about voter fraud could hurt the party, even if a major key to high voter turnout is to motivate Trump’s fiercely loyal base.

AFP