- Prosecutors are investigating if Trump lied to his own accountants, The New York Times reported.
- Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. is investigating the Trump Organization for fraud.
- The Times reported that his office recently interviewed one of Trump’s accountants and a banker.
Prosecutors in Manhattan are investigating former President Donald Trump as to whether or not he lied to his own accountants, The New York Times reported.
The news comes as investigators with the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. continue their years-long probe into whether former President Donald Trump and the Trump Organization misrepresented his finances to lenders and investors.
Prosecutors found that the accountants put together financial statements that were given to lenders and investors based on the information given to them by the Trump Organization, The Times reported.
Sources familiar with the investigation told The Times that the office of Vance Jr. recently questioned one of Trump’s accountants before a grand jury, as well as his longtime banker.
New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office is also investigating the Trump Organization, The Times reported. Prosecutors in Vance’s office are working with James’ office to see if the former president “cherry-picked” favorable financial information to present to lenders while ignoring unfavorable data.
Last month, Insider’s Eliza Relman and Jacob Shamsian reported that the two offices are investigating whether the Trump Organization intentionally gave government officials and potential lenders dramatically different property valuations.
While Trump may not have personally prepared the data for the accountants, The Times reported that the documents reviewed showed his approval.
“Donald J. Trump is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of the financial statement in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America,” his accountants wrote in a cover letter attached to the statements in 2011 and 2012, according to The Times report.
The outlet reported that prosecutors are looking to determine if the financial statements were based on Trump’s own “exaggerated claims,” which could serve as evidence that he intended to mislead his own accountants and lenders.
However, The Times added that Trump placed disclaimers in the documents presented that said data hadn’t been audited or authenticated and that those disclaimers can help his defense.
A spokesman for Vance’s office declined to comment.
Representatives for Trump did not respond to Insider’s request for comment at the time of publication.
