Manhattan DA hires ace attorney as investigation of Donald Trump escalates: report

In a ramp up of its criminal investigation of Donald Trump, the Manhattan district attorney's office has enlisted a prominent federal prosecutor to analyze the financial dealings of Trump's businesses, the New York Times reports.

"The former prosecutor, Mark F. Pomerantz, has deep experience investigating and defending white-collar and organized crime cases, bolstering the team under District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. that is examining Mr. Trump and his family business, the Trump Organization," the Times report stated.

Vance is focusing on possible tax and bank-related fraud "including whether the Trump Organization misled its lenders or local tax authorities about the value of his properties to obtain loans and tax benefits," people close to the matter told the Times.

"In recent months, Mr. Vance's office has broadened the long-running investigation to include an array of financial transactions and Trump properties — including Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, various Trump hotels and the Seven Springs estate in Westchester County — as prosecutors await a ruling from the United States Supreme Court that could give them access to Mr. Trump's tax returns," the newspaper reported.

"The prosecutors have also interviewed a number of witnesses and have issued more than a dozen new subpoenas, including to one of Mr. Trump's top lenders, Ladder Capital, the people with knowledge of the matter said. In addition, investigators subpoenaed a company hired by Mr. Trump's other main lender, Deutsche Bank, to assess the value of certain Trump properties, one of the people with knowledge of the previously unreported subpoenas said," the newspaper reported.

Read the full report over at The New York Times.