A second long-term grand jury has just been seated in Manhattan, according to the Washington Post, and the legal investigation of failed, one-term former President Donald Trump and his company, the Trump Organization, has expanded yet again.
The new grand jury, empaneled by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., will meet for three days a week over the next six months:
It was expected to hear evidence on Thursday, meeting in Manhattan’s Surrogate’s Court — usually a forum for disputes over the estates of the deceased — because the criminal court buildings are jammed with a rush of post-pandemic trials.
One person familiar with the matter said the second grand jury was expected to examine how former president Donald Trump’s company valued its assets.
The first grand jury investigated possible tax fraud by members of the Trump Organization, which resulted in the indictment of Allen Weisselberg, the chief financial officer of Trump Organization who allegedly hid compensation from the IRS that was paid to them by the ex-president.
Trump and his company are also under investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James:
James (D) said in a court filing last year that her office was investigating Trump’s valuations of three properties: his Los Angeles golf course, a Manhattan office building and an estate in suburban New York called Seven Springs.
James’s filing said she was interested in a “conservation easement” that Trump obtained on the Seven Springs property in 2015 — giving him tax benefits in exchange for renouncing his right to build houses on part of the estate. Trump boosted the value of that tax break by estimating that the land would have brought him $21 million if he’d sold it.
The Trumps have repeatedly whined that they are being targeted by the legal system for political reasons, with Trump Org. Executive Vice President Eric Trump saying:
“This type of targeting and harassment violates every ethical guideline of a prosecutor. It’s wrong.”