Another step in the investigation against Donald Trump: the prosecution has convened a grand jury.
New York – Investigations into ex-presidents are taking shape. According to media reports, the New York prosecutor is to convene a grand jury for a possible indictment. The jury will examine in the coming months whether the burden of proof against Donald Trump is sufficient for an indictment, according to the Washington Post on Tuesday (May 25, 2021). Meanwhile, Trump himself is again talking about politically motivated investigations and a “witch hunt”.
According to the US newspaper, the convening of a grand jury is an indication that solid evidence of criminal action has been found on the part of the ex-president. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance has been investigating Donald Trump and his Trump Organization, a business empire consisting of hundreds of sole proprietorships from hotels to golf courses, since 2019. There are allegations of banking, insurance and tax fraud.
USA: Grand jury convened to investigate Trump
The investigation could specifically target Trump personally, the Trump Organization or his employees. If there were charges against Trump himself, he would be the first ex-president of the United States to face criminal proceedings.
The jury will meet three days a week for six months, according to the Washington Post. At the meetings, the prosecutor will present their evidence to the jury. A decision is then made in secret. Grand juries are often convened in the United States in particularly important cases to secretly decide on an indictment.
Investigations in the USA: Donald Trump with well-known allegations
The summoning of a grand jury was “the continuation of the greatest witch hunt in American history,” Trump said in a statement. The investigation was “politically” motivated and an “affront to the nearly 75 million voters who supported me in the presidential elections”.
Originally, the investigation was about hush money payments to the porn actress Stormy Daniels and the former “Playboy” model Karen McDougal. The women had stated that they had affairs with Trump years ago. The investigation has now expanded to include tax evasion and banking and insurance fraud in the United States.
Specifically, it is about Trump – depending on his interests – having stated the value of his real estate too high or too low. This is said to have saved money on loans and insurance. This allegation is based on a testimony from Trump’s private attorney Michael Cohen in 2019 at a congressional hearing.
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Investigations against Donald Trump: Prosecutors according to Trump “highly partisan”
Since February, investigators in New York have finally received Trump’s long-held tax returns. The ex-president had tried vehemently to legally prevent the publication. He went to the US Supreme Court twice for this.
New York Attorney General Letitia James is also investigating the Trump Organization. Last week, she announced that she had expanded her civil law investigation and is now also investigating Trump under criminal law. James and Vance worked together on this. The two lawyers belong to the Democratic Party of US President Joe Biden. On Tuesday, Trump described them in his statement as “highly partisan Democratic prosecutors”. (spr / afp)
Picture list: © JOE MARINO via www.imago-images.de
