Trump Organization Now Under Criminal Investigation

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White House

Trump Organization is now under criminal investigation.

Halle Saldivia, Reporter

On Tuesday, the New York Attorney General Letitia James and other prosecutors opened a criminal investigation into the Trump Organization, expanding a probe into the business empire of former President Donald Trump.

“We have informed the Trump Organization that our investigation into the organization is no longer purely civil in nature,” Fabien Levy, New York Attorney General Letitia James’s press secretary, said in an email Tuesday night. “We are now actively investigating the Trump Organization in a criminal capacity, along with the Manhattan DA. We have no additional comment.”

James opened an investigation into the Trump Organization that has been ongoing since 2019, the latest revelation ups the pressure on the former president and his family. The implications of a criminal investigation into Trump and those in his close orbit have gained attention because Trump now lacks any immunity he had while president. Now, Trump cannot pardon his former aides and close allies, a power he used to protect associates who were in previous criminal investigations.

James’ announcement of cooperation with the Manhattan District Attorney adds weight to the ongoing criminal investigation into the Trump Organization, examining potential tax and bank-related fraud. The New York Times obtained years of Trump’s detailed tax filings last year, which showed the president’s efforts to use the tax code to avoid mountains of federal income tax. James’s office is said to be examining if those efforts were legitimate or if Trump took tens of millions in tax deductions he wasn’t entitled to.

Trump, in a lengthy written statement, cast the attorney general’s announcement as political warfare.

“There is nothing more corrupt than an investigation that is in desperate search of a crime,” Trump said. “But, make no mistake, that is exactly what is happening here…The Attorney General of New York literally campaigned on prosecuting Donald Trump even before she knew anything about me.”