Politico this morning offers this tantalizing bit of gossip:
A ‘CLOUD OF NERVES’ HANGS OVER TRUMP: AfterWaPo reported Tuesday night that Manhattan DA CY VANCE has convened a special grand jury to decide whether to indict former President DONALD TRUMP or execs at his company, we checked in with Trump world to get their take on the latest news.
“There’s definitely a cloud of nerves in the air,” one adviser said, adding that this feels different than the typical barrage of legal issues surrounding Trump because there is pressure on Trump Org CFO ALLEN WEISSELBERG to flip. “I think the Weisselberg involvement and the wild card of that makes the particular situation more real, because there’s no sort of fluff and made-up fictional circumstances around the guy. … The fact that they’re dealing with a numbers guy who just has plain details makes people more nervous. This is not a MICHAEL COHEN situation.”
No, it is more of an Al Capone’s bookkeeper situation. For his part, Trump is maintaining his usual bluster and playing the victim — “witch hunt,” “look at my polls,” etc. — while driving golf balls into water hazards.
That Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance has convened a grand jury means he believes he has enough evidence to support a criminal charge against Trump and/or someone in his organization or the company itself. Vance expects a grand jury will return an indictment once presented with his evidence. That may take some time, however. The Washington Post reports that this is a “special” grand jury slated to meet three days a week for six months. Vance is putting the grand back in jury.
The Washington Post reports:
Vance’s investigation is expansive, according to people familiar with the probe and public disclosures made during related litigation. His investigators are scrutinizing Trump’s business practices before he was president, including whether the value of specific properties in the Trump Organization’s real estate portfolio were manipulated in a way that defrauded banks and insurance companies, and if any tax benefits were obtained illegally through unscrupulous asset valuation.
The district attorney also is examining the compensation provided to top Trump Organization executives, people familiar with the matter have said.
For now, prosecutors are poring over informal interviews with plans to begin formal testimony soon, Politico’s Josh Gerstein writes. This comes after Vance obtained copies of Trump’s tax returns after a multi-year fight Trump took all the way to the Supreme Court where in February he lost (Politico again):
“But the new grand jury is expected to go beyond assembling records by hearing live testimony from various witnesses — which will give prosecutors an opportunity to present a narrative that could persuade jurors to return an indictment in the coming months. Coupled with [New York] Attorney General LETITIA JAMES’ recent decision to team up with Vance and Vance’s hiring of veteran mafia prosecutor MARK POMERANTZ, the move to a new grand jury suggests a steady progression towards criminal charges against some person or company in the Trump orbit.”
Vance’s investigation stemmed from the conviction of former Trump fixer Michael Cohen for charges including campaign finance violations over hush-money payments made to women with whom Trump had affairs. James is pursuing allegations that Trump and the Trump Organization criminally inflated or depressed the value of its portfolio either to obtain loans or to reduce tax liability, that is, to dodge taxes. Thus, a role for Pomerantz.
The Post again:
The Washington Post previously reported that Vance’s office has been trying to pressure the Trump Organization’s chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, into cooperating against his boss, a person familiar with the strategy confirmed. Weisselberg is said to know the ins and outs of every business transaction at the company over the course of his decades in employment there.
A lawyer for Weisselberg declined to comment when reached Tuesday.
The tight-lipped Weisselberg knows everything. His former daughter-in-law once told The New Yorker that, “He has more feelings and adoration for Donald than for his wife.” But his family is also at risk. If he flips on Trump and the Trump Organization, the story he could tell the special grand jury could be a compelling one resulting in one or more charges, potentially against Trump himself. “Trump has never been criminally charged,” the Post adds. “No former U.S. president has ever been charged with a crime.” Yet.
As Trump and his team sweat, an even more tantalizing prospect is what happens if a grand jury returns an indictment(s). Trump resides in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis’s Florida. DeSantis is up for reelection next year. He might have to decide whether to extradite the former president and current cult leader to the state of New York. If so, Trump will not be the only one sweating.