Ben Protess and William K. Rashbaum

The subpoena opens a new front in a wide-ranging effort to obtain copies of the president’s tax returns, which Trump initially said he would make public during the 2016 campaign but has since refused to disclose.

The subpoena was issued by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office late last month, soon after it opened a criminal investigation into the role that the president and his family business played in hush-money payments made in the run-up to the election.

Both Trump and his company reimbursed Michael D. Cohen, the president’s former lawyer and fixer, for money Cohen paid to buy the silence of Stormy Daniels, a pornographic film actress who said she had an affair with Trump. The president has denied the affair.

It was unclear if the broad scope of the subpoena indicated that the office had expanded its investigation beyond actions taken during the 2016 campaign. A spokesman for the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., declined to comment.

State prosecutors are seeking a range of tax documents from the accounting firm, Mazars USA, including Trump’s personal returns and those of his business, the Trump Organization. The subpoena seeks federal and state returns for both the president and the company dating back to 2011, the people said.

The investigation by Vance has been focused on $130,000 that Cohen paid Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, just before the election. Cohen pleaded guilty last year to breaking federal campaign finance laws and received a three-year prison sentence.

While the federal prosecutors who charged Cohen stated in a court filing in July that they had “effectively concluded” their inquiry into possible crimes committed by the company or its executives, Vance’s office is exploring whether the reimbursements violated any New York state laws.

In particular, state prosecutors are examining whether the company falsely accounted for the reimbursements as a legal expense. In New York, filing a false business record can be a crime.

But it becomes a felony only if prosecutors can prove that the false filing was made to commit or conceal another crime, such as tax violations or bank fraud. The tax returns and other documents sought from Mazars could shed light on whether any state laws were broken. Such subpoenas also routinely request related documents in connection with the returns.

Democrats have insisted for years that Trump release his tax returns, which every modern presidential nominee has done before him. They contend that the president may be trying to conceal details of his actual financial worth, the source of his wealth and possible conflicts of interest involving his business partners.

Congressional Democrats have taken an aggressive approach, subpoenaing six years of Trump’s tax returns from the Treasury Department, as well as personal and corporate financial records from Deutsche Bank, Capital One and Mazars USA.

The president has fought back to keep his finances under wraps, challenging the subpoenas in federal court. He has also sued to block a New York state law, passed this year, that authorized state officials to provide his state tax returns in response to certain congressional inquiries. By tying up the requests in court, Trump’s team has made it diminishingly likely that Democrats in Washington will get the chance to review them before the election next year.

But it may be more difficult to fend off a subpoena in a criminal investigation with a sitting grand jury, as there is in Manhattan. It is possible the Trump Organization could try to negotiate with the district attorney’s office to narrow the scope of the subpoena.

Jay Sekulow, a lawyer for Trump, and Marc L. Mukasey, a lawyer for the Trump Organization, both declined to comment.

Asked whether the company would seek to quash the subpoena, Mazars USA said in a statement that it “will respect the legal process and fully comply with its legal obligations,” adding that the company was prohibited by its policy and professional rules from commenting on its work. The statement, however, did not directly address whether the company might take any legal action to block the subpoena.

Even if the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is successful in obtaining the president’s tax returns, the documents would be covered by secrecy rules governing grand juries, meaning they would not become public unless they were used as evidence in a criminal case.

At the beginning of August, state prosecutors also subpoenaed the Trump Organization, seeking documents related to the payment to Daniels and the reimbursement to Cohen. With few legal options, the Trump Organization has been complying with that subpoena.

Still, the company has derided the investigation by Vance, a Democrat, as politically motivated.

“It’s just harassment of the president, his family and his business, using subpoenas as weapons,” Mukasey said last month.

As part of its investigation, prosecutors from Vance’s office visited Cohen in prison in Otisville, New York, to seek assistance with their investigation, according to people briefed on the meeting, which was first reported by CNN.

Cohen also helped arrange for American Media Inc., publisher of The National Enquirer, to pay Karen McDougal, a Playboy model who also said she had an affair with the president. Prosecutors in the district attorney’s office subpoenaed American Media in early August, as well as at least one bank.

The investigation is not the first time Vance’s office has focused on members of the Trump family or its business. In 2012, his office declined to charge two of Trump’s children, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr., in an investigation into whether they misled buyers interested in the Trump SoHo hotel-condominium project, a decision that resulted in criticism of Vance.

This article originally appeared in

8 Years of Trump Tax Returns Are Subpoenaed by Manhattan DA

NEW YORK — State prosecutors in Manhattan have subpoenaed President Donald Trump’s accounting firm to demand eight years of his personal and corporate tax returns, according to several people with knowledge of the matter.

In the document, the prosecutors said they had “effectively concluded” their inquiry, which centered on payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to buy the silence of two women who said they had had affairs with Trump.

The outcome appeared to be a legal victory for Trump, whom prosecutors implicated last year in directing the payments. He had denied the affairs and any wrongdoing, but his aides considered the inquiry a greater threat than even the special counsel’s investigation into Russian interference in the election.

At the same time, other documents released Thursday offered the government’s most detailed account yet of Trump’s involvement in the hush-money payments, showing he was in close touch with Michael Cohen, the president’s former lawyer and fixer.

The day before paying $130,000 to Stormy Daniels, a pornographic film actress, in October 2016, Cohen spoke on the phone with Trump twice. Less than 30 minutes later, Cohen took steps to open a bank account to pay the woman, the documents showed.

Cohen also spoke with Trump the day after wiring the money to the woman’s lawyer, the documents said. The new disclosures seem to contradict repeated statements by Trump, and those close to him, that they were unaware that Cohen had arranged the payments.

The documents did not address what led the prosecutors with the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan to conclude their inquiry, but people briefed on the matter said that earlier this year investigators had encountered obstacles to filing additional charges.

With Trump, the prosecutors were limited by more than just a Justice Department policy that bars charging a sitting president with a federal crime, one of the people said. Prosecutors also grappled with whether they had enough evidence to show that Trump had understood campaign finance laws and had intentionally violated them.

A spokeswoman for the Trump Organization did not respond to a request for comment. Jay Sekulow, a lawyer for Trump, said simply, “Case closed.”

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/18/nyregion/michael-cohen-trump-investigation.html" id="cdee5c9b-a76d-3c87-a7ff-a8e8532faef6">The New York Times</a>.

New Charges in Stormy Daniels Hush-Money Inquiry Are Unlikely, Prosecutors Signal

Federal prosecutors signaled in a court document released Thursday that it was unlikely they would file additional charges in the hush-money investigation that ensnared members of Donald Trump’s inner circle and threatened to derail his presidency.

In the document, the prosecutors said they had “effectively concluded” their inquiry, which centered on payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to buy the silence of two women who said they had affairs with Trump.

At the same time, other documents released Thursday offered the government’s most detailed account yet of Trump’s involvement in the hush-money payments, showing he was in close touch with Michael Cohen, the president’s former lawyer and fixer, while the payments were being arranged.

Cohen also spoke with Trump the day after wiring the money to the woman’s lawyer, the documents said. Although it is not known what was said during the phone calls, the new disclosures seem to contradict repeated statements by Trump, and those close to him, that they were unaware that Cohen had arranged the payments.

The investigators also struggled to gain access to at least one encrypted electronic device that may have contained additional evidence, the people said. It is unclear who the device belonged to and whether the investigators ultimately reviewed its contents.

On Thursday, the prosecutors revealed for the first time that they had expanded their investigation from campaign finance violations to include whether “certain individuals” lied to investigators or tried to obstruct the inquiry.

A brief report filed by prosecutors did not identify the subjects of those investigations, although it contained redactions of what appeared to be at least one name. That investigation has also ended, prosecutors said, although they did not explicitly say that charges would not be filed.

As recently as this spring, prosecutors were still considering whether one Trump Organization executive was untruthful when testifying before the grand jury, according to people briefed on the matter.

The Trump Organization reimbursed Cohen for the hush money he paid to Daniels. Cohen also urged American Media Inc., which publishes The National Enquirer, to buy the rights to a former Playboy model’s story of an affair with Trump. Both deals effectively silenced the women in the runup to the 2016 election.

Cohen pleaded guilty in the case. He has said he helped arrange the hush money at the direction of Trump, and prosecutors have since repeated the accusation in court papers. Cohen is serving a three-year prison sentence.

In a statement from a federal prison in Otisville, New York, Cohen criticized the decision to end the inquiry.

“The conclusion of the investigation exonerating the Trump Organization’s role should be of great concern to the American people and investigated by Congress and the Department of Justice,” Cohen said.

The president’s critics in Congress, citing the new disclosures about Trump’s contact with Cohen around the time of the payments, argued that there was sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges against him but for the Justice Department policy.

“The inescapable conclusion from all of the public materials available now is that there was ample evidence to charge Donald Trump with the same criminal election law violations for which Michael Cohen pled guilty,” Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, said in a statement.

The documents released Thursday were related to a 2018 raid on Cohen’s home and office. The prosecutors initially had released the documents in March, with nearly every detail of the campaign finance evidence redacted.

On Wednesday, a federal judge in Manhattan, William H. Pauley III, had ordered prosecutors to release the records without redactions.

The search warrant documents shed light on the breadth of evidence the prosecutors amassed against Cohen even before searching his property and interviewing a number of witnesses. The prosecutors had access to many of his text messages with American Media executives and a lawyer for the two women as well as records of his calls with Trump.

The documents detail the lengths Cohen and Trump campaign aides went — in the final stretch of the campaign — to prevent the public from learning about Daniels and Karen McDougal, a Playboy model.

Hope Hicks, who was Trump’s campaign spokeswoman and a trusted aide, had a more substantial role in discussions about the hush money payments than had been previously known.

In October 2016, in the days leading up to the payments to Daniels, Hicks took part in a series of telephone calls, text messages and email messages. They were with Cohen, Trump, Daniel’s lawyer and two American Media executives — including the head of the company, David J. Pecker, Trump’s longtime friend.

“Based on the timing of these calls, and the content of the text messages and emails, I believe that at least some of these communications concerned the need to prevent Clifford from going public,” an FBI agent wrote in one of the documents, using Daniels’ real name, Stephanie Clifford.

A lawyer for Hicks declined to comment.

The day after Cohen sent the $130,000 payment to the lawyer for Daniels, he spoke to Trump for about five minutes. That evening, the lawyer, Keith Davidson, texted Cohen that “all is AOK,” assuring him that Daniels would sign a nondisclosure agreement soon.

“I hope we are good,” Cohen said to Davidson, who responded: “I assure you. We are very good.”

In early November 2016, The Wall Street Journal reported on American Media’s arrangement with McDougal, who received $150,000 from the tabloid company. The next day, Cohen texted Hicks that the story was “Getting little to no traction.” Hicks responded, “Keep praying!! It’s working!”

Later that day, Trump spoke with Pecker, according to one of the documents. Pecker cooperated with prosecutors, earning American Media a nonprosecution agreement.

Trump won the election three days later.

The outcome appears to be a legal victory for Trump, who prosecutors implicated last year in the campaign finance violations. He had denied the affairs and any wrongdoing, but his aides considered the inquiry a greater threat than even the special counsel’s investigation into Russian interference in the election.

At the same time, other newly released documents from the investigation Thursday offered the government’s most detailed account yet of Trump’s involvement, showing that he was in close touch with Michael Cohen, the president’s former lawyer and fixer, while the payments were being arranged.

The day before paying one of the women $130,000 in October 2016, Cohen spoke twice on the phone with Trump, according to the documents, which said that less than 30 minutes later, Cohen took steps to open a bank account to pay the woman.

He also spoke with Trump the day after wiring the money to the woman’s lawyer, the documents said. It is not known what was said during the phone calls.

For the first time, the prosecutors with the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan also revealed that they had expanded their investigation from campaign finance violations to include whether “certain individuals” lied to investigators or tried to obstruct the inquiry.

The prosecutors had also examined Trump’s conduct but Justice Department policy holds that a sitting president cannot be charged with a federal crime.

The Trump Organization reimbursed Cohen for the hush money he paid to Stormy Daniels, a pornographic film actress. Cohen also urged American Media Inc., which publishes The National Enquirer, to buy the rights to a former Playboy model’s story of an affair with Trump. Both deals effectively silenced the women in the run-up to the 2016 election.

“The inescapable conclusion from all of the public materials available now is that there was ample evidence to charge Donald Trump with the same criminal election law violations for which Michael Cohen pled guilty,” Rep. Adam Schiff, the California Democrat who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, said in a statement.

The outcome is a legal victory for Trump, who prosecutors implicated last year in the campaign finance violations. He had denied the affairs and any wrongdoing, but his aides considered the inquiry a greater threat than even the special counsel’s investigation into Russian interference in the election.

A brief report filed by prosecutors did not identify the subjects of those investigations, although it contained redactions of what appeared to be at least one name. That investigation has also ended, prosecutors said.

A spokeswoman for the Trump Organization did not respond to a request for comment.

New Charges in Trump Campaign Finance Inquiry Are Unlikely, Prosecutors Signal

At the same time, other newly released documents from the investigation showed that Trump was in close touch with Michael D. Cohen, the president’s former lawyer and fixer, when he was arranging the payments.

The day before paying one of the women $130,000, Cohen spoke twice on the phone with Trump, according to the documents, which said that “less than thirty minutes after speaking to Trump,” Cohen took steps to open a bank account to pay the woman.

For the first time, the prosecutors with the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan also revealed in one document that they had expanded their investigation from campaign finance violations to include whether “certain individuals” lied to investigators or tried to obstruct the inquiry.

The brief report did not identify the subjects of those investigations, although it contained redactions of what appeared to be at least one name. That investigation has also ended, prosecutors said.

A lawyer for the Trump Organization could not immediately be reached for comment.

NEW YORK — Federal prosecutors signaled in a court document released on Thursday that it was unlikely they would file additional charges in the hush-money investigation that ensnared members of Donald Trump’s inner circle and threatened to derail his presidency.

Trump has denied the affairs and any campaign finance violations.

The documents were related to a 2018 raid on Cohen’s home and office. The prosecutors initially had released the documents in March, with nearly every detail of the campaign finance evidence redacted.

The search warrant documents shed light on the breadth of evidence the prosecutors amassed against Cohen even before searching his property and interviewing a number of witnesses.

The prosecutors with the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan also revealed for the first time that they had expanded their investigation from campaign finance violations to include whether “certain individuals” lied to investigators or tried to obstruct the inquiry.

The brief report did not identify the targets of those investigations, although it contained redactions of what appeared to be at least one name. That investigation has also ended, prosecutors said.

The disclosures came in a document filed with William H. Pauley III, a federal judge in Manhattan. The judge had ordered the prosecutors Wednesday to publicly release a number of documents related to their investigation.

The president’s former lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, was convicted in the case. He has said he helped arrange the hush money at the direction of Trump, and prosecutors have repeated the accusation in court papers. Cohen is serving a three-year prison sentence.

The search warrant documents shed light on the breadth of evidence the prosecutors amassed against Cohen even before searching his property and interviewing a number of witnesses. The prosecutors initially had released the documents in March, with nearly every detail of the campaign finance evidence redacted.

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Ben Protess and William K. Rashbaum

Articles written by the author

8 Years of Trump Tax Returns Are Subpoenaed by Manhattan DA

New Charges in Stormy Daniels Hush-Money Inquiry Are Unlikely, Prosecutors Signal

New Charges in Stormy Daniels Hush-Money Inquiry Are Unlikely, Prosecutors Signal

New Charges in Stormy Daniels Hush-Money Inquiry Are Unlikely, Prosecutors Signal

New Charges in Trump Campaign Finance Inquiry Are Unlikely, Prosecutors Signal

New Charges in Trump Campaign Finance Inquiry Are Unlikely, Prosecutors Signal

New Charges in Trump Campaign Finance Inquiry Are Unlikely, Prosecutors Signal

New Charges in Trump Campaign Finance Inquiry Are Unlikely, Prosecutors Signal

New Charges in Trump Campaign Finance Inquiry Are Unlikely, Prosecutors Signal