Back in July, the Manhattan District Attorney announced a whopping 15-count indictment against the Trump Organization (and its long-time CFO, Allen Weisselberg) for, among other things, conspiracy, grand larceny, and multiple counts of tax fraud and falsifying business records. While the charges were no doubt unwelcome, particularly given that prosecutors revealed a literal spreadsheet Donald Trump’s family business used to keep track of its alleged crimes, Team Trump presumably comforted itself with the hope that that was all district attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. had, and further criminal charges would not be forthcoming. But, surprise!
The Washington Post reports that the D.A. has convened a second long-term grand jury to hear fresh evidence about the Trump Organization’s “financial practices” and will potentially vote on levying new charges. (It was the first grand jury, which met in the spring, that returned the felony indictments against the Trump Organization and Weisselberg, both of whom have pleaded not guilty.) The new grand jury will meet three days a week over six months and is expected to begin hearing evidence Thursday in Manhattan’s Surrogate’s Court. According to one person familiar with the matter, the new group will likely examine how Trump’s company values its assets; another person familiar with the matter said staffers in the D.A.’s office are working closely with the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James, who had the ex-president’s foundation shut down in 2019 for illegally scamming charities.