New York's investigation into Trump's finances just stepped up a notch: report

It appears the Manhattan District Attorney's investigations into President Donald Trump's finances just got a big jolt.

The Washington Post reported Tuesday that the office had hired forensic accounting specialists to work on the criminal investigation.

DA Cy Vance opened an investigation in 2018 after claims from once -Trump lawyer Michael Cohen about 2016 hush-money payments to two women Trump allegedly had extra-marital affairs with. That investigation has now turned into a larger probe into the Trump Organization's accounting and finances.

"Vance's office has suggested in court filings that bank, tax and insurance fraud are areas of exploration," said the Post.

Trump has spent the better part of the past year trying to block access to his taxes from the investigation. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled that the grand jury in New York could have access to them. It's unclear whether Vance will prosecute Trump, but there is speculation that Trump may pardon himself and his family before leaving office. The problem, however, is that there are possible state-level charges, which Trump couldn't pardon himself from.

A grand jury has been empaneled and began heating up earlier this month when investigators began questioning Trump Organization employees under oath. Trump's personal banker at Deutsche Bank resigned last week for reasons that haven't been made clear.

"Vance has contracted with FTI Consulting to look for anomalies among a variety of property deals, and to advise the district attorney on whether the president's company manipulated the value of certain assets to obtain favorable interest rates and tax breaks," the Post said citing a person with knowledge of the investigation "who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity because the matter remains highly sensitive. The probe is believed to encompass transactions spanning several years."

Read the full report at the Washington Post. Washington Post.