Former U.S. President Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower in Manhattan on May 18, 2021 in New York City.
James Devaney | GC Images | Getty Images
WASHINGTON — Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. has convened a grand jury in his wide-ranging investigation into former President Donald Trump, The Washington Post reported Tuesday, citing two sources familiar with the probe.
Prosecutors have been investigating Trump, the Trump Organization and its officers since at least 2018. The grand jury signals that they are ready to present evidence and potentially seek indictments.
The panel was convened recently, according to the Post, but it was unclear precisely when. It will meet three days a week over a span of six months.
A spokesperson for Trump did not reply to a request from CNBC for a response to the legal developments.
In New York state, this kind of special grand jury typically hears a number of different cases and is especially useful in complex, long-running matters.
Although much of Vance’s investigation is still opaque, court filings and witnesses have confirmed that prosecutors are investigating several kinds of financial activities that Trump and the Trump Organization engaged in.
One of them is whether the former president and his company falsely inflated the value of their properties for insurance adjusters and then undervalued the properties for tax purposes.
Another area under investigation is how the Trump Organization paid its top executives and whether taxes were paid on various forms of compensation.
Earlier this year, Vance and his team won a court battle over Trump’s tax returns, which they subpoenaed from the firm that prepared them.
The former president has repeatedly and forcefully denied any wrongdoing. He has accused the district attorney’s office of engaging in a politically motivated investigation.
New York state’s attorney general, Letitia James, is also investigating the Trump Organization in a criminal capacity.
The attorney general’s office had initially opened a civil investigation into the Trump Organization. But earlier this month, James’ spokesman announced that the case had evolved into a criminal probe.
For more on the Trump grand jury, read the full story from The Washington Post.
