The NY Attorney General’s Office Opens a Criminal Investigation into the Trump Organization
Former acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal says the former president as well as his two adult sons are facing a serious legal threat.
The New York Attorney General’s Office announced a criminal investigation into the Trump Organization on Tuesday night, and at least one observer says this spells big trouble for former President Donald Trump and his family.
“This letter is not like ordinary politics,” former acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal said on MSNBC, adding:
“It’s not some statement from Nancy Pelosi or Joe Biden or Kamala Harris. It’s not even a Supreme Court loss, of which Trump had many, or a civil fine, of which Trump has paid many. This is a letter talking about jail time.”
“What this letter is saying is that prosecutors believe that there is a strong reason to think that the Trump Organization committed various crimes,” Katyal said.
Katyal noted that the attorney general’s office said they were working with the Manhattan district attorney, who has obtained Trump’s taxes after a Supreme Court battle. However, Katyal did allow that there was a way the former president might try to duck blame, particularly since the Trump Organization website prominently features images of Trump’s two adult sons, Eric and Don Jr.
“I suppose Donald Trump can pull a Ted Cruz and blame his kids here or something like that,” Katyal said, referring to how the Texas senator blamed his daughters after he was caught sneaking off for a vacation in Cancun as his state suffered massive power outages following a winter storm.
A spokesperson for New York AG Letitia James said Tuesday evening that the Trump Organization was informed the investigation into the company was “no longer purely civil in nature.” That investigation, opened in 2019, has been examining Trump’s business dealings before he entered the White House.
“We are now actively investigating the Trump Organization in a criminal capacity, along with the Manhattan DA,” the statement said.
