State prosecutors with the Manhattan district attorney’s office have issued subpoenas to President Trump’s insurance broker and lender, the New York Times reports.
The moves mark an escalation of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance’s investigation into President Trump’s financial affairs which, unlike federal probes, could result in charges that are immune from the President’s pardon power.
Prosecutors have reportedly brought new witnesses before a grand jury empaneled in Manhattan.
In court documents filed against President Trump’s long-running efforts to litigate a criminal subpoena for his taxes, state prosecutors suggested that the probe encompasses allegations of tax, bank, and insurance fraud, based on public reports about the Trump organization’s conduct.
Vance’s employees questioned two Deutsche Bank employees about the lender’s procedures for underwriting and issuing loans, the Times reported. Insurance broker Aon said that it had received a subpoena from Vance’s office.
New York’s Department of Financial Services issued a separate civil subpoena to Aon last year, after former Trump attorney Michael Cohen testified to Congress that the Trump organization would inflate the value of its assets to insurance companies.
Trump has zealously fought any attempt at scrutiny of his business and financial dealings, erecting a wall of both personal and government attorneys to fend off inquiries.
That effort has largely been successful.
Congressional investigators from multiple committees have struggled to enforce subpoenas issued to Trump’s longtime lenders and accountant for his financial records, while even prosecutors with Vance’s office find themselves before the Supreme Court for a second time, arguing again whether their subpoena for the President’s financial records was too broad.
But once Trump leaves office, he’ll lose his pardon power and the protection from criminal prosecution granted to sitting presidents.
Correction: The initial photo accompanying this story mistakenly identified the subject of the photo as Cy Vance. We regret the error.
