Reuters reported that Manhattan's attorney general's office has issued new summons in the criminal investigation into former US President Donald Trump's business activities, and that former Trump attorney Michael Cohen is undergoing interrogation.
Case documents indicate that the Trump company is suspected of engaging in criminal conduct, including document forgery and tax evasion.
According to Reuters, the Attorney General's office said little about the investigation, but it was noted in court filings that the case file was focused on "potentially widespread and prolonged criminal behavior" at the Trump Organization, including alleged falsification of records, insurance and tax fraud. .
The agency indicated that the investigation had been opened in 2018 to examine the file of the alleged cash payments, but it expanded to include Trump's behavior as a private employer and whether his companies had engaged in criminal tax evasion.
In a separate investigation, New York prosecutors are looking into whether the Trump company inflates real estate values to take advantage of loans and tax benefits.
In December 2018, a New York federal judge sentenced Cohen to three years in prison.
The ruling came after the lawyer of the former president pleaded guilty to eight charges that varied between tax evasion and violating laws related to campaign financing.
Trump and the Republicans in Congress have sought to undermine Cohen's credibility by asserting that he lied while he was sworn in.
However, Cohen said at the sentencing session that he bore "full responsibility" for his actions, explaining that the payments were made "in coordination" or through direction from President Trump at the time.
In December 2018, a federal judge in New York sentenced Cohen to 3 years in prison (French-Getty Images)
A lengthy investigation
And last October, The New York Times - in a lengthy investigation in which 10 journalists participated - that more than 200 foreign companies, entities and governments have benefited greatly from President Donald Trump, through agreements with his resorts and hotels in return for Facilities from his administration.
According to the investigation titled "The Swamp That Trump Built," the companies owned by the Trump family earned about $ 12 million during his first two years in office, in exchange for services from the president or his administration to 60 parties whose interests were at risk.
The newspaper emphasized that the interests of these parties "have already been pushed forward in one way or another" by the president or his government.
She described Trump as a "business-president" who harnessed the interest-free culture in Washington for his hotels and resorts, and made millions by playing the "gatekeeper to his administration."
And she confirmed that his actions came against his electoral promises in 2016, when he pledged at that time to drain the swamps of exploitation of influence.