Cases against former President Donald Trump have been largely lauded in the mainstream media, as pundits salivate over the ratings that a trial featuring The Don would rake in, but the latest maneuvering of the Manhattan DA and related prosecutors belies just how desperate this whole fiasco has become.
Now, instead of trying to piece together anything they can to keep Trump out of office in the future from higher-ups within the Trump organization, (and from the NYC business mogul’s tax returns), investigators are scraping the employee rolls looking for someone new to harass.
New York prosecutors investigating former President Donald Trump’s business have advised Trump’s former bodyguard and current chief operating officer, Matthew Calamari, and his son that they should get their own lawyers, not use the Trump Organization’s attorneys, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with the matter. Prosecutors are reportedly looking into whether the Calamaris have illegally avoided paying taxes on benefits provided by the Trump Organization, including housing and cars.
New York City District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. has been investigating the Trump Organization for a few years, focused most recently on whether the company manipulates the value of its properties to get loans and lower its taxes. Vance’s prosecutors are similarly investigating, and widely believed to be trying to gain the cooperation of, Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg, but they don’t appear to have had much luck yet. Now it appears their interest in these benefits extends beyond Weisselberg, the Journal reports, noting that neither Calamari or Weisselberg have been accused of wrongdoing.
The Calamaris have taken the prosecutors’ advice and hired Nicholas Gravante Jr., who has represented former AIG head Maurice “Hank” Greenberg and Hunter Biden, among other prominent clients, the Journal reports.
Trump has appeared largely unfazed by the probe, which is just about all you need to know about its alleged seriousness.
