Don’t despair over the Senate impeachment trial outcome. Remember Al Capone didn’t go to prison for his most notorious crimes, but for tax evasion.
After voting to acquit Trump in the Senate impeachment trial, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell noted that Trump remains subject to the country’s criminal and civil laws now that he is out of office. “He didn’t get away with anything yet,” McConnell said.
So on the same day that the impeachment trial came to an end, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Manhattan District Attorney's Office is expanding its ongoing investigation into Trump’s financial dealings by looking into loans taken out on Trump Tower and three other flagship Manhattan properties.
The WSJ report, citing sources familiar with the investigation, said the probe has been expanded to look into loans to Trump made by subsidiaries of New York City-based real estate investment trust Ladder Capital Corp.
The report said a $100 million loan on Trump Tower is due next year while other loans are due in upcoming years.
According to the report, Ladder Capital has lent Trump more than $280 million since 2012 for four Manhattan properties: Trump Tower, 40 Wall St., Trump International Hotel and Tower, and Trump Plaza. It was previously reported that New York prosecutors are investigating the Trump Organization's Seven Springs property in Westchester County, north of New York City.
The probe is being led by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., who has said in court filings that his office is investigating alleged insurance and bank fraud by the Trump Organization and its officers.
Experts told the Wall Street Journal that the probe may be looking into possible discrepancies between loan documents submitted to financial institutions and and financial information submitted on documents like his tax returns.
At a February 2019 congressional hearing, Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen testified that Trump fraudulently adjusted the values of his properties — raising the value of a property on loan applications while lowering it on his tax returns.
Trump is appealing a Supreme Court ruling that allowed Vance to obtain his tax returns and other financial documents.
