NEW YORK (AP) — New York City prosecutors have subpoenaed President Donald Trump’s tax returns, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Monday.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.’s office recently sent a subpoena to Trump’s accounting firm seeking the last eight years of state and federal tax returns for Trump and his company, the Trump Organization, according to the person, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Vance, a Democrat, subpoenaed the Trump Organization last month for records related to payments former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen helped arrange to the porn actress Stormy Daniels after she claimed she had an affair with Trump.
Vance’s office declined to comment Monday on the tax return subpoenas, the news of which was first reported by The New York Times.
The accounting firm, Mazars USA, said in a statement that it “will respect the legal process and fully comply with its legal obligations.”
The firm said it believes strongly in ethical and professional rules and regulations governing the accounting industry and does not comment on work it does for clients.
A lawyer for the Trump Organization, Marc Mukasey, said he is “evaluating the situation and will respond as appropriate.”
Federal prosecutors in New York and Washington spent months probing payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to two women who said they had affairs with Trump, including Daniels and model Karen McDougal.
Cohen, who made one of the payments himself and arranged for American Media Inc., the parent company of the National Enquirer, to pay the other, pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations, tax evasion and other crimes and is serving a three-year sentence.
A lawyer for Cohen declined to comment.
Trump, who denies any sexual relationship with either woman, has said any payments were a personal matter, not a campaign expense.
The U.S. attorney’s office in New York informed a court last month that it was finished investigating the payments. No one besides Cohen was charged, though prosecutors said in public court filings that Trump himself was aware of and directed the payments.
The Trump Organization also reimbursed Cohen for money he paid to Daniels. Cohen has argued that organization officials disguised the true nature of the payments and that it is unfair he is the only one prosecuted.
The federal inquiry looked at whether campaign finance laws were broken.
The New York Times reported, citing “people briefed on the matter,” that Vance’s inquiry involves an examination of whether anyone at the Trump Organization falsified business records by falsely listing the reimbursements to Cohen as a legal expense.
Falsifying business records can be a crime under state law.
18 PHOTOS
Criticism of report on Trump’s tax returns
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Rachel Maddow has nothing. Fake News In fact this helps Trump. The assumption was that he paid no income tax Now we know he paid $38M
Congrats @Maddow now, Rachel Maddow has out-Geraldo’ed Geraldo Rivera. #FakeNews so dumb, Mexico just got 10 feet l… https://t.co/76cgakMw1L
Rachel Maddow just said move over @CNN let me show you what Fake News really looks like, as Geraldo yells out I thought I had that covered
Rachel Maddow (@maddow) is going to get roasted for possibly eternity for this embarrassing fake hit piece on Trump
#TrumpsTaxReturns
Rachel Maddow helped uncover the fact that Trump in 05 paid roughly 10% more than Bernie Sanders did a few years ago. Thanks!
Tomorrow on Rachel Maddow: We have Trump’s real birth certificate!
“So, what does it say?”
“Erm..American”
Thank u for your #Resistance 👍🏻
Rachel Maddow is the joke of social media. @maddow
BREAKING: Tomorrow night Rachel Maddow will reveal Donald Trumps 2002 receipt from Arby’s! Spoiler he likes the Beef N Cheddar! so do I 😋
So Rachel Maddow is risking jail time to “inform” Americans that Trump is really rich and probably needs a better CPA
Rachel Maddow revealing Donald Trump’s 2005 tax returns was as exciting as Larry King saying “You’re on the air.”
Has Rachel Maddow revealed anything yet? I know the show is over, but I’m still waiting.
Rachel Maddow: Got Trump’s tax returns
Media: YES!
Maddow: He obeys the law
Media: NOOO! BOOO! Maddow is #FakeNews!!
#TaxReturns #TrumpCare
Drudge: Trump paid higher tax rate [25%] than MSNBC Comcast [24%], Obama [19%], Bernie [13%]. Great reporting Rache… https://t.co/wJNZzdYuNK
Watch Rachel Maddow’s brilliant take down of.. her own credibility. Only on MSNBC..
Patriots won at overtime. Hollywood ends with #Oscarfail Rachel Maddow shows the world how rich Trump is & he pays… https://t.co/yl6MOQxoKQ
Diamond and Silk react to Rachel Maddow and the “Bombshell” release of Trump’s 2005 tax returns. #hannity https://t.co/FivjApqWwv
Many thanks to Rachel Maddow for proving that Trump paid even more taxes than 1%-hater Bernie!
So Trump made ~ $411,000.00 per day and paid 25% in taxes. Thanks “Rachel Maddow” for making a fool of yourself. #trumpstaxes
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