Trump’s move to Florida may have been unexpected gift to Manhattan DA investigating his finances
Top prosecutors left New York investigation in recent weeks
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Donald Trump’s move to Florida may have given New York prosecutors extra time to carry out their flagging investigation into the former president under an obscure law.
Officials in New York usually have five years from the date of alleged crimes to file charges for most felonies, but Mr Trump’s move to Florida, made permanent in 2020, could give officials an extra five years.
And they need all the time they can get.
The long-running probe —w hich is investigating allegations the Trump Organization inflated property values, lied on official documents, dodged taxes, misled banks, and sued mafia-style tactics dating back to the early 2000s — has run into problems in recent weeks.
Two senior officials in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office resigned this year, stating DA Alvin Bragg’s reluctance to bring further charges against Mr Trump as their reason. (The office has previously charged the Trump Organization in 2021 with a long-running scheme to avoid taxes by paying employees with fringe benefits.)
“The team that has been investigating Mr. Trump harbors no doubt about whether he committed crimes — he did,” prosecutor Mark Pomerantz wrote in his February resignation letter, arguing it would be a “a grave failure of justice” not to bring more charges.
The former president’s lawyer, Ronald Fischetti, told The New York Times investigators “had the opportunity to present the fruits of [its] investigation to the D.A. and his senior staff on several occasions and failed.”
DA Bragg and his investigators have reportedly disagreed over whether there’s enough evidence to show Mr Trump knowingly falsified financial records.
The Manhattan official assured the public last week his office is still pursuing the investigation.
“In the long and proud tradition of white-collar prosecutions at the Manhattan D.A.’s Office, we are investigating thoroughly and following the facts without fear or favor,” he said. “Indeed, litigation involving the former president himself is not foreign to me. As the Chief Deputy at the New York State Attorney General’s Office, I oversaw the successful litigation against the former president, his family, and the Trump Foundation.”
Whether this extra potential few years of investigative time matters remains to be seen
“You don’t often have white collar cases that are so … old. It just doesn’t happen that much that you’re trying to get something from more than five years ago,” former Manhattan DA investigator Adam Kaufmann told The Daily Beast, which reported on the potential extension.
The civil investigation into the Trump family business from New York Attorney General Letitia James, meanwhile, shows no signs of letting up.
Earlier this month, she asked a court to hold Donald Trump in contempt for failing to turn over documents to investigators. If the punishment is upheld, Mr Trump could be fined $10,000 a day for each day he holds out on officials.
The office has also sought to question Donald Trump Jr and Ivanka Trump, a request that is also under review.
Attorney General James said in a recent court filing the office has evidence the Trumps engaged in “fraudulent or misleading” business practices.
The Attorney General’s investigation is civil, so it will not result in criminal charges, but could culminate in a lawsuit.
Donald Trump has criticised the AG investigation as a baseless partisan “witch hunt” and “an “attempt to silence a President who is leading in every single poll.”