China News Service, February 26. According to comprehensive US media reports, the tax records that former U.S. President Trump tried to keep confidential for many years have now been transferred to the New York District Attorney. The 17-month tax table dispute has come to an end.
Data map: Former US President Trump.
U.S. media quoted people familiar with the matter as reporting on the 25th that the New York prosecutors obtained Trump’s tax records on the 22nd. Just a few hours before they obtained these records, the Supreme Court rejected Trump’s lawyers for keeping these records. The last effort made.
The source said that the millions of pages of documents held by the New York prosecutors include Trump’s tax returns from January 2011 to August 2019, as well as financial statements, business agreements, tax filings, and work related to tax returns. Documents and communications, etc.
Due to the restrictions of the secrecy rules of the grand jury, the documents handed in by Trump's many years of accounting firm Mazars (Mazars) will not be released to the public, but the delivery of these documents means a 17-month dispute over tax returns Draw a full stop.
Manhattan District Attorney Vance is investigating whether Trump and the Trump Organization are involved in tax fraud, insurance fraud and other fraud conspiracies, including the possibility of providing financial institutions or banks with false information about the value of certain buildings and assets.
According to reports, with these records, prosecutors in the Vance office will be able to conduct more in-depth investigations, seek interviews with key witnesses, and determine whether Trump and the Trump Organization have violated any state laws.
In addition to the records turned over by Mazars, the Vance office is also seeking a large number of other documents.
According to multiple sources familiar with the investigation, they subpoenaed employees of Deutsche Bank, one of Trump’s creditors, and insurance broker Aon, and asked them about their loans to Trump.
These people familiar with the matter said that the New York prosecutors also subpoenaed Ladder Capital to seek information on the more than $100 million in loans they provided to the Trump Organization. They were also obtaining documents on the Trump Organization’s advisory fees. His daughter Ivanka received these consultant fees.
British media previously analyzed that Trump's tax records were merely an opportunity for Vance's office to expand the scope of the investigation.
It is not clear whether prosecutors will prosecute Trump himself or his company or business partners.
The investigation may ultimately not constitute any prosecution.
However, if the prosecutor finds evidence of misconduct, there is a possibility of criminal proceedings. In New York, certain types of tax fraud can be prosecuted as serious criminal offences, and the penalty can be long imprisonment. If this is the case, in the case of prosecution, Trump may be summoned to New York for criminal trial. This result-although it is only theoretically possible at present-will seriously affect Trump's chances of a "resurrection" in politics.