Manhattan DA issues subpoenas in expansion of Trump criminal probe: WSJ

Donald Trump will face an expanded criminal probe in New York when his term as president ends at noon on Wednesday, according to a new report by The Wall Street Journal that the newspaper is billing as an exclusive.

"Manhattan prosecutors have subpoenaed records relating to President Trump's sprawling Seven Springs estate north of New York City, according to people familiar with the matter, expanding the known scope of the only publicly disclosed criminal investigation into the president and his business," WSJ correspondent Corinne Ramey reported.

"Some of the information requested by Manhattan prosecutors relates to the president's valuation of Seven Springs, which he bought for $7.5 million in 1995 and in 2012 said was worth almost $300 million as he tried to develop it into a luxury residential community. Inflating assets to help secure loans or other financial benefits can be a state criminal offense, legal experts said. Prosecutors from the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. in recent weeks have sent subpoenas to local officials in the three Westchester County towns—New Castle, North Castle and Bedford—in which the Seven Springs estate sits, the people said. The people said the subpoenas request tax assessments, email correspondence, planning-board materials and other documents about the 213-acre property, with a mansion built in 1919 for former Federal Reserve chairman Eugene Meyer," The Journal reported.

In October, Eric Trump sat for a deposition in the investigation.

"Mr. Vance's office has said in court filings seeking Mr. Trump's tax records that it is investigating possible bank, tax and insurance fraud. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Mr. Vance is entitled to obtain the records, though the president's lawyers have blocked their release so far with a second appeal to the high court on different grounds," The Journal reported. "The office of New York Attorney General Letitia James, which is also investigating Seven Springs as part of a civil-fraud probe, has said it determined Mr. Trump's statements of financial condition were provided to financial institutions, according to court documents the attorney general's office has filed in connection with its probe."

Read the full report.