Trump is ‘a Houdini of alleged crime’ — but the law may finally catch up with him in New York: analysis

Former President Donald Trump's legal woes extend far beyond his Mar-a-Lago document scandal as twin investigations in New York threaten to squeeze him further.

"While Donald Trump has been focused in recent weeks on the fallout over the FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida, two investigations into his business affairs back in New York could require his attention again soon," Ben Werschkul reported. "Yahoo Finance spoke with a range of experts about what penalties could be ahead for Trump’s bottom line if his company finds itself criminally convicted or the subject of civil action, or both, in ongoing cases where the odds seem to be stacked against the former president."

Werschkul spoke with government ethics expert Norm Eisen, who described Trump as "a Houdini of alleged crime” for his decades of alleged wrongdoing.

Eisen said, “I'm anticipating very, very serious penalties."

"The overlapping investigations — and Trump’s exposure in other legal areas — could build on each other, says Eisen, who's been tracking developments closely. On one front, a criminal probe from the Manhattan District Attorney recently secured guilty pleas on 15 criminal tax fraud charges from Allen Weisselberg, Trump’s long-time CFO," Yahoo Finance reported. "Meanwhile, New York Attorney General Letitia James and her team recently questioned Trump directly as part their civil investigation into whether his business lied about the value of its real estate holdings to evade taxes and secure loans. Trump reportedly invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 440 times that day, though James has said she has 'significant evidence' there."

The Trump Organization could even be shut down, like Trump University and his nonprofit, under New York's corporate death penalty law.

"Of course, the possible hits to Trump’s business and bottom line comes alongside a dizzying swirl of ongoing investigations. Charges under the Espionage Act are a possibility following the FBI seizure of classified documents stored at Mar-a-Lago," Werschkul reported. "The Justice Department is also reportedly looking at criminal charges around Trump's role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Then there is the D.C. attorney general preparing for trial over possible fraud at Trump’s 2016 inaugural committee. And prosecutors in Georgia are digging into his alleged interference in Georgia’s election in 2020. And even the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating Trump social media company's arrangement with Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC)."

ALSO IN THE NEWS: 'These gangsters are on notice': Kash Patel snaps at FBI after his name is left un-redacted on Mar-a-Lago affidavit

Read the full analysis.