Trump Also Suspected of Banking and Insurance Fraud

A prosecutor in New York’s Manhattan district is investigating U.S. President Donald Trump and his company for alleged banking and insurance fraud, alleged in court documents.

According to him, it concerns “possibly large-scale and long-term criminal behaviour” at the company, the Trump Organization.

Prosecutor Cyrus Vance suggests that the suspicion is partly behind the claim of Trump’s tax returns by a so-called grand jury. That is a jury of citizens who have jurisdiction under U.S. criminal law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate possible criminal conduct, and determine whether to prosecute.

The jury wants to have Trump’s personal tax returns and those of the Trump Organization of the past eight years on the table. The president is opposed to this. Claiming the tax returns goes too far according to Trump’s lawyers and would be “in bad faith”.

Prosecutor Vance responded to his allegations with his investigative statements. According to him, there are “public allegations of possible criminal behaviour” by the Trump Organization. Trump’s defence that claiming the tax returns is going too far is, according to Vance, “based on the erroneous assumption that the investigation is only about payments of hush money.”

Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen confessed in 2018 that he paid silence on behalf of Trump in 2016 to porn actress Stormy Daniels, who had to remain silent about her sexual contacts with married Trump in return. In doing so, Cohen acted in violation of election legislation.

The Vance spokesperson declined to comment on the court documents. What is discussed by a grand jury is strictly secret. Trump responded to the submitted documents by saying that they are part of a “witch hunt” on him.