A Democratic prosecutor at the end of his term, another prosecutor known for her tenacity, a faithful adviser to Donald Trump and a former official who decided to betray him: these are some of the protagonists of the judicial dossier that could culminate in the unpublished indictment of a former US president.
– Cyrus Vance, the prosecutor seeking posterity –
Manhattan prosecutor Cyrus Vance, 66, a Democrat elected to the post in 2010, was the first to open a criminal investigation against the former Republican president.
The son of a former US secretary of state, he has sometimes been accused of refusing to prosecute powerful people, most notably for delaying indictment of former film producer Harvey Weinstein.
But on the Trump case he has been determined, first in the long battle to obtain his accounting and financial files, and then by deploying great human and financial resources on this politically sensitive investigation.
At stake is his reputation for posterity. He has already announced that he will not seek a fourth term when his expires in December. Observers estimate that he will do everything possible to indict Trump before then, with the strongest possible dossier to facilitate the task of his successor.
– Letitia James, the combative prosecutor –
The New York State Attorney General, also a Democrat, was the first black woman to hold the job in 2018.
Since then, the 62-year-old attorney has built a reputation for combative and independent, intensifying investigations of both big companies – especially tech giants – and the Trump administration, against which she has launched dozens of civil actions.
Although Trump accuses her of bias against him, he has also taken on compromising dossiers for the Democratic governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, weakened by a series of scandals.
After delivering a forceful report on allegations of concealment of the death toll from the pandemic in nursing homes, James leads the sensitive ongoing investigation into allegations of sexual harassment against the governor. Depending on the severity of the results of this investigation, Cuomo may be forced to resign.
– Allen Weisselberg, leal entre los leales a Trump –
At 73, this discreet accountant is the most faithful collaborator of Trump’s family holding company. He started as an accountant in the firm of Frederick Trump, Donald’s father, before joining the Trump Organization as a financial controller when the mogul settled in Manhattan in the 1980s.
He has been on all of Donald Trump’s business ventures, even when he was in trouble with his Atlantic City casinos.
According to Barbara Res, a former vice president of the Trump Organization recently quoted by the Daily News, “I thought Trump was a God.” But now everyone is wondering if he will turn on his boss.
Investigators have been pressuring him for months, not hesitating to also target his family, especially his son Barry Weisselberg, to convince this man who is believed to know all the secrets of the Trump Organization to collaborate with them.
– Michael Cohen, thirsty for revenge –
Trump’s 54-year-old former personal attorney was the first from the former president’s inner circle to be arrested by the courts, who sentenced him in late 2018 to three years in prison for tax evasion and violating campaign finance laws.
But he was also the first of his followers – who worked for 10 years as the tycoon’s right-hand man, saying he was ready to “take a bullet from his boss” – to turn around and collaborate with investigators.
He has been questioned multiple times in recent weeks by Cyrus Vance’s team.
In February 2019, before a parliamentary commission, he accused Donald Trump left and right. Among other things, he noted that the billionaire regularly undervalues or overvalues his assets, with both banks and insurance companies, to climb the annual rankings of the richest people set by organizations like Forbes.
Very active on Twitter or through his “Mea Culpa” podcast, he frequently rejoices over his former boss’s legal troubles and his possible upcoming indictment.
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