Grand jury to consider potential charges

Washington Post: Manhattan DA convenes grand jury to consider potential charges in Trump Organization probe

By Paul LeBlanc

Manhattan's top prosecutor has convened a grand jury that is expected to decide whether to indict former President Donald Trump should prosecutors present criminal charges in their probe of the Trump Organization, two people familiar with the matter told The Washington Post.

The panel, convened by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, could also decide to indict executives at the Trump Organization or the business itself if criminal charges are presented, the Post reported.

The grand jury is set to sit for three days a week for six months, according to the newspaper, and will likely hear matter beyond just the Trump Organization probe during that time.

CNN has reached out to the Trump Organization for comment. Trump has previously called the district attorney's investigation a "witch hunt."

The Manhattan district attorney's office declined to comment when reached by CNN on Tuesday.

News of the panel signals that Vance's team of prosecutors -- who have been investigating the Trump Organization for more than two years -- could be nearing the end of their probe. Prosecutors are looking into whether the Trump Organization misled lenders and insurance companies about the value of properties and paid appropriate taxes.

The prosecutors are combing through millions of pages of documents, including Trump's tax returns, which they obtained in February after the US Supreme Court blocked Trump's attempt to stop a subpoena to his long-time accounting firm.

The investigation encompasses Trump Tower, the family estate known as Seven Springs, its Chicago hotel and condo tower, as well as the hush money payments made to silence Stormy Daniels, the adult film star who alleges an affair with Trump. Trump has denied the affair.

The Manhattan district attorney's investigation drew renewed attention earlier this month following news that New York Attorney General Letitia James had joined the probe.

The attorney general office's investigation into the Trump Organization, which has been underway since 2019, will also continue as a civil probe, but the office recently informed Trump Organization officials of the criminal component.

"We have informed the Trump Organization that our investigation into the organization is no longer purely civil in nature. We are now actively investigating the Trump Organization in a criminal capacity, along with the Manhattan DA," James' spokesman Fabien Levy told CNN. "We have no additional comment."