Patterico's Pontifications

12/30/2020

Manhattan D.A. Hires Forensic Accounting Specialists to Look at Trump Financial Documents

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 8:29 am



The Manhattan D.A. is getting serious:

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has retained forensic accounting specialists to aid its criminal investigation of President Trump and his business operations, as prosecutors ramp up their scrutiny of his company’s real estate transactions, according to people familiar with the matter.

District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. opened the investigation in 2018 to examine alleged hush-money payments made to two women who, during Trump’s first presidential campaign, claimed to have had affairs with him years earlier. The probe has since expanded, and now includes the Trump Organization’s activities more broadly, said the people familiar with the matter. Vance’s office has suggested in court filings that bank, tax and insurance fraud are areas of exploration.

Vance has contracted with FTI Consulting to look for anomalies among a variety of property deals, and to advise the district attorney on whether the president’s company manipulated the value of certain assets to obtain favorable interest rates and tax breaks, according to a person with knowledge of the investigation who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity because the matter remains highly sensitive. The probe is believed to encompass transactions spanning several years.

I think the chances they will find nothing are very low. Crooks gonna crook.

24 Responses to “Manhattan D.A. Hires Forensic Accounting Specialists to Look at Trump Financial Documents”

  1. Re: “…according to a person with knowledge of the investigation who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity because the matter remains highly sensitive.”

    It would be refreshing to have such persons not speak at all. Of course, members of the press will speak about “the public’s right to know”. Where does this right come from? Is it in some way superior to the right of the defendant to a fair trial?

    John B Boddie (d795fd)

  2. So I’m all for prosecuting Trump for any and all crimes committed.

    My question is:

    Would he be prosecuted for these same crimes had he not run for president? Obviously some of these crimes involve things done while running for president so then maybe the question becomes “had he not won would he still be being prosecuted?”

    nate (1f1d55)

  3. It would be refreshing to have such persons not speak at all.

    During the Mueller investigation, similar leaks were later revealed to have originated on Trump’s side.

    In this case, FTI Consulting, or someone affiliated with them, is also a plausible candidate.

    Dave (1bb933)

  4. @2: Would he be prosecuted for these same crimes had he not run for president?

    Why set the bar that high? Would you even be able to tweet the story out if his name was Hunter?

    beer ‘n pretzels (478ca6)

  5. Would he be prosecuted for these same crimes had he not run for president? Obviously some of these crimes involve things done while running for president so then maybe the question becomes “had he not won would he still be being prosecuted?”
    nate (1f1d55) — 12/30/2020 @ 9:36 am

    Of course not. Had he not run for and been elected president, he’s be one of the rich guys in New York who hobnobbed with the Clinton family. He would have been untouchable.

    Hoi Polloi (139bf6)

  6. @6 If these folks are determined to go to the mat and prosecute former Presidents in this manner, don’t be surprised when GOP-state AG go after former Democratic Presidents.

    Maybe this is a good thing… we just need to apply the same rules to everyone, regardless to party affiliation.

    whembly (c30c83)

  7. @6, fine by me.

    Time123 (130539)

  8. Vance’s office has suggested in court filings that bank, tax and insurance fraud are areas of exploration.

    That sounds like it involves giving different values to the same piece of property for different purposes, which we know Trump did, and also know accounting firms did.

    Low for tax purposes, high for borrowing from banks, and maybe high also for insurance.

    Donald Trump once testified about this kind of thing. He said he gave values according to his feelings at the time (probably not exactly the truth)

    It’s impossible to assign exact values to real estate. Vance can’t say anything is wrong, but just that it is contradictory.

    But there may be case law that you can give different estimates.

    Sammy Finkelman (69aa73)

  9. @8

    But there may be case law that you can give different estimates.

    Sammy Finkelman (69aa73) — 12/30/2020 @ 12:02 pm

    You can do that… I don’t have the resources on my fingertips, but it’s generally SOP for these sorts of things.

    You can get in trouble for being excessive with it, but those are normally administratively adjudicated, rather than adjudication in the courts.

    whembly (63cfde)

  10. I think that Trump will get a pardon from Biden and Biden will ask Cuomo to grant the same. Biden doesn’t want or need the Trump Show sucking the oxygen out of his term.

    Any trial would be worse than OJ, and would energize his minions to create all kinds of mischief. The country does not need this, many would see it a political retribution (which it probably would be), and it would widen the polarization that is destroying us.

    It would be good if the immunity was conditional on him retiring from public life.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  11. Would he be prosecuted for these same crimes had he not run for president? Obviously some of these crimes involve things done while running for president so then maybe the question becomes “had he not won would he still be being prosecuted?
    People in glass houses etc. etc.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  12. @10 NY has a double-jepardy law that if a federal pardon was issued, they cannot indict over the same thing. It’d have to be something different.

    Also, for Trump leaving from public life? Trump won’t do that as he lives for it.

    whembly (63cfde)

  13. I think that Trump will get a pardon from Biden….

    I doubt it, because the Democratic base would revolt.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  14. @8-

    It depends on motivation. If it was done to defraud a bank (like Deutschebank) that could be criminal. Vance will need insiders from the Trump Organization or his lenders to rat him out.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  15. Let’s not forget John Edwards who was (rightly) prosecuted by the Obama DOJ.

    I think there are two things that are important:

    1) politicians aren’t more prosecuted for doing something than if they weren’t a politician.

    2) politicians aren’t less prosecuted for doing something than if they weren’t a politician.

    I think the problem is in our polarized reality that a lot of people will look at any given situation and think either #1 or #2 is happening regardless of the truth.

    nate (1f1d55)

  16. I’d like a forensic trace of the political donations Trump has been pulling in.

    nk (1d9030)

  17. If those Manhattan DAs had put 1/10 of the effort into investigating those behind the 2008 crash as they have with investigating Trump, someone might have been prosecuted for destroying the economy.

    Hoi Polloi (139bf6)

  18. @17-
    Most of the potential crimes would have been federal, and the “Manhattan DAs” are investigating state crimes.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  19. I’d like a forensic trace of the political donations Trump has been pulling in.

    nk (1d9030) — 12/30/2020 @ 5:25 pm

    Sure. In exchange for Obama and Biden/Harris/Schumer/Pelosi.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  20. In exchange for Obama and Biden/Harris/Schumer/Pelosi.

    Obama 2008 is what made me think of it now, NJRob. Remember? His millions in anonymous cash card donations?

    nk (1d9030)

  21. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a toss-up who is the slimier of the two New York sewer rats, Trump or Cyrus Vance, but Vance’s iniquities have been at the local level while Trump has dirtied every part of America.

    nk (1d9030)

  22. Maybe a new AG in SoCal will employ Andrew Weismann or his doppelganger to go fishing and then get after some recalcitrant prosecutors so we can see some real progress.

    steveg (43b7a5)

  23. If those Manhattan DAs had put 1/10 of the effort into investigating those behind the 2008 crash as they have with investigating Trump, someone might have been prosecuted for destroying the economy.

    So the socialist, Obama, and the communist, Holder (or is it the other way around? I can never keep it straight) gave the capitalist running-dog assassins of the proletariat a pass on their crimes, at a moment when much of the country would have cheered to see them jailed, or worse?

    Diabolical!

    The truth is that there were hundreds of investigations, but in many cases it proved impossible to establish individual wrong-doing beyond a reasonable doubt. Instead, the DoJ reached agreements with many firms to pay fines and penalties totaling over $190 billion.

    Dave (1bb933)


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