Manhattan D.A. Is Probing Trump For Possible Fraud And 'Protracted Criminal Conduct'

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

In New York City, new court filings by the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, according to the New York Times, indicate that President Donald Trump may be under investigation for possible fraud.

According to Times reporters William K. Rashbaum and Benjamin Weiser, the filings indicate a "significantly broader inquiry than the prosecutors have acknowledged in the past." And in the filings, Vance's office argues that Trump should have to comply with subpoenas that demanded eight years of the president's financial and tax documents.

Rashbaum and Weiser explain, "The reports, including investigations into the president's wealth and an article on the congressional testimony of his former lawyer and fixer, Michael D. Cohen, said that the president may have illegally inflated his net worth and the value of his properties to lenders and insurer."

According to the Associated Press, Vance has been investigating reports of "extensive and protracted criminal conduct at the Trump Organization."

The Supreme Court recently ruled that Vance's office had a right to demand Trump's financial documents as part of an investigation — and that Trump was not sheltered from such requests. Trump had been arguing that executive privilege sheltered him from Vance's inquiries.

Vance's prosecutors have been investigating to determine, among other things, whether hush money payments to women Trump had extramarital affairs with — including adult film star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal — were illegal.