New York (AFP)
The Trump Organization, the conglomerate owned by the family of former US President Donald Trump, is under criminal investigation, the New York State prosecutor announced on Tuesday.
"We have informed the Trump Organization that our investigation into this organization is no longer solely of a civilian nature," said Fabien Levy, spokesperson for New York State Attorney Letitia James.
"We are now actively investigating the Trump Organization in criminal matters, together with the Manhattan prosecutor," she added.
The Trump Organization is made up of hundreds of businesses linked to Donald Trump or his relatives, including hotels, real estate companies, and golf courses.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, a Democrat, in 2018 began an investigation initially focused on payments made, before the 2016 presidential election, to two alleged mistresses of the Republican billionaire then expanded to allegations of tax evasion, tax evasion. insurance or bank fraud.
This investigation is conducted confidentially before a grand jury.
Attorney Vance, a Democrat like Letitia James, obtained tax returns from Donald Trump for the past eight years and from the Trump Organization in February after a long legal battle.
According to The New York Times, citing a source familiar with the matter, Ms. James' office will continue its civil investigation and will at the same time send two deputy prosecutors to join Mr. Vance's team.
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Donald Trump, who left the White House in January, denies any wrongdoing and called the investigation "a continuation of the biggest political witch hunt in our country's history."
In early April, as the Manhattan district attorney's investigation progressed into suspicions of tax or bank fraud, the Trump Organization bolstered its team of advocates by hiring experienced criminal lawyer Ronald Fischetti, 84.
Six months after his electoral defeat, Mr Trump, who twice escaped impeachment proceedings, remains popular with Republican voters.
Settled in his luxurious residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, the New York mogul was ousted from Twitter and Facebook for encouraging the invasion of the Capitol by his supporters on January 6.
But he still seems listened to by Republican voters, 67% of whom, according to a CBS News poll last weekend, believe Joe Biden is not a legitimately elected president.
© 2021 AFP