The Washington Post reported on Tuesday evening (local time) that a so-called grand jury had been convened in the proceedings. This is a panel of juries that can decide on an indictment in a non-public procedure. According to the newspaper’s report, this involves a possible charge against Trump himself, against the Trump Organization or against managers of the group.
Trump reacted immediately and declared that this was “a continuation of the greatest witch hunt in American history”. “This is purely political and an affront to the nearly 75 million voters who supported me in the presidential election,” he said in a letter published on Tuesday.
The process is operated by “highly partisan democratic prosecutors”. “Our country is broken, our elections are corrupt and stolen, our prosecutors are politicized, and I’ll have to keep fighting like I’ve done for the past five years!” Trump has never presented evidence of his fraud allegations.
The Manhattan attorney, Cyrus Vance, had previously fought for the surrender of Trump’s tax documents in the Washington Supreme Court. He has not yet brought any charges. The comprehensive investigation concerns, among other things, the suspicion that Trump’s company has made false statements about the value of their real estate in order to get loans or to gain price advantages. Vance is also reportedly investigating hush money payments to women who said they had an affair with Trump. Trump rejects all allegations against him.
Last week it became known that separate investigations by New York Attorney General Letitia James now also have a criminal component. The Washington Post reported that the grand jury recently convened by Vance will meet three days a week for six months and will presumably take care of other matters than the Trump case. The newspaper interpreted Vance’s move as an indication that the prosecutor believed to have found evidence of a crime. The allegations relate to the time before Trump’s presidency.
After his election victory in 2016, Donald Trump handed over the management of his corporate conglomerate – which is primarily active in the real estate business – to his sons Eric and Donald Junior. Donald Trump remained the owner, although he had promised to “isolate himself completely” from his business. Republican Trump was replaced by his Democratic successor Joe Biden in the White House on January 20. Furthermore, his sons are listed as heads of the group on the homepage of the Trump Organization.
–
