This is another setback for the former President of the United States. On Monday, February 22, the Supreme Court dismissed a request to quash the decision of a federal judge who had ordered the delivery of eight years of tax and banking returns to Manhattan prosecutor, Cyrus Vance. The latter, who has been asking for them for months, will therefore be able to continue his investigations against the former president, which eventually make him risk an indictment.
The Supreme Court had already ordered in July 2020 to Donald Trump and his accounting firm Mazars USA to send the documents to the prosecutor. But the tycoon’s lawyers appealed to her again to challenge the scope of the documents requested. “The work continues”, simply reacted Mr. Vance in a statement.
This survey is only “The continuation of the biggest witch hunt in the history of our country”, reacted the ex-president Monday in a statement, accusing the New York democratic prosecutors of using “Law as a weapon”. “The Supreme Court should never have let go [cela], but they did ”, he lamented. “I will continue to fight, as I have been doing for five years (even before being elected) despite all the electoral crimes perpetrated against me. And we will win. “
Survey started in 2016
Initially centered on payments made, before the presidential election of 2016, to two alleged mistresses of the billionaire, the investigation of Mr. Vance, investigated behind closed doors before a grand jury, now also examines possible allegations of tax fraud, insurance fraud , or bank fraud.
According to US media, investigators recently interviewed employees of Deutsche Bank – long the financial backer of Donald Trump and his holding company, the Trump Organization – and his insurance company, Aon.
They also re-interviewed the president’s ex-personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, who is serving a prison sentence. He had told Congress that Trump and his company were artificially inflating or reducing the value of their assets, to alternately obtain bank loans or reduce their taxes.
Possible incarceration
If these suspicions were true and Mr. Trump was charged, they would expose the ex-president to possible incarceration. Unlike federal offenses, violations of state laws cannot be pardoned by the President of the United States. New York State Democratic Attorney Letitia James is also investigating the allegations of bank fraud and insurance fraud in civil proceedings.
Unlike other presidents in recent US history, Donald Trump has always refused to disclose his tax returns during the four years of his mandate.