The U.S. Department of Justice’s criminal case against Donald Trump over the classified documents recovered from his Mar-a-Lago residence is not the only legal challenge the former president is facing. He and his real estate business — The Trump Organization — are also the subject of a civil investigation by the New York Attorney General‘s office.
What Happened: The attorney general office has rejected an offer from Trump’s lawyers to settle the investigations and is also considering suing at least one of the former president’s adult children — Eric, Ivanka, and Donald Trump Jr — who were all senior executives at The Trump Organization, The New York Times said in a report, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
The odds of a lawsuit on the grounds of Trump having committed fraud have now increased, the report added.
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Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, has been handling the 3-1/2-year investigation into whether Trump has “fraudulently” inflated the value of his assets. She is standing for re-election in mid-November, the NYT report said.
Trump has reportedly denied any wrongdoing and has accused James of spearheading a politically-motivated witch hunt, according to the report.
Why It’s Important: If the investigation culminates in a trial and Trump stands to lose, he may have to cough up financial penalties and face restrictions to run business operations in New York, the report added.
Commenting on the development, Andrew Weissmann, a former DoJ attorney and legal expert, said, “I suspect this civil case will eventually settle.”
“Trump will never want all this dirty laundry aired publicly.”
The Trump Organization is also facing criminal tax charges in Manhattan in which the attorney general’s office is also participating. Long-time CFO Allen Weisselberg recently pleaded guilty to participating in the tax scheme and has agreed to testify at the trial.
Image and article originally from www.benzinga.com. Read the original article here.