A New York prosecutor is looking into Trump’s Westchester golf course.
Since leaving the White House, former President Donald Trump has been in hot water on several legal fronts, and the heat was turned up a notch on Wednesday with news of a new criminal investigation into one of his businesses. Here’s what you need to know about Trump’s latest troubles.
What’s the newest criminal investigation into the Trump Organization all about?
The district attorney in Westchester County, New York, has opened a probe into Trump National Golf Club Westchester, one of Trump’s many commercial properties across the country, according to multiple news outlets who spoke to people familiar with the investigation.
The full scope of the inquiry isn’t totally clear, but it has already included subpoenas for records from the golf club and from the town of Ossining, which sets property taxes on the course. Reports indicate that the prosecutors’ steps so far show an interest in whether the Trump Organization misled the local government about the value of the property in order to reduce the taxes on it.
This isn’t the first suggestion of impropriety in how the Trump Organization handles its taxes. In July, the company was charged by the Manhattan DA’s office for running a 15-year scheme in which executives evaded taxes and received benefits and compensation that were hidden from the government.
What does the Trump Organization say?
Though the Westchester DA’s office has thus far declined to comment on its work, Trump’s company has already denounced the investigation.
“The Club’s request for a review of its tax assessments was amicably resolved earlier this year,” a spokesperson for the Trump Organization told ABC News. “Accordingly, the suggestion that anything was inappropriate is completely false and incredibly irresponsible. The witch hunt continues.”
What other legal challenges is Trump facing?
There are many. This comprehensive list from legal analysis forum Just Security outlines a number of criminal and civil cases, all of which are at various stages of investigation and prosecution.
NBC News reported earlier this week that Trump answered questions under oath on Monday in a case brought against him by protestors who allege the former president’s security team assaulted them during a 2015 demonstration outside Trump Tower.
Another on-the-record inquisition may come very soon. In another suit, former The Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos claims Trump defamed her by claiming she lied about his inappropriate sexual conduct. A court clerk in that civil case announced this week that all depositions must be completed by Dec. 23, meaning Zervos’s legal team is likely to file a petition to set a date for interviewing Trump.
The former president — and possible 2024 candidate — also faces cases from E. Jean Carroll, who’s suing for defamation for Trump’s reaction to her allegations that he raped her; his niece Mary Trump, who claims Trump and other family members defrauded her out of millions of dollars; and at least four different suits related to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
